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First and foremost, let’s face it. Australia has been one of the largest contributors of rubbish worldwide. In 2019, NSW, one of its states, had a total generation of 3.66 million tonnes of domestic waste. And yes, that’s a lot!
Furthermore, for the past few years, low recycling and high landfilling rates have been an issue regarding waste management. That’s why NSW devised the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (WARR) Strategy to solve these problems. Specifically, it aims to achieve the following:
- Avoid and reduce the waste generated per person in NSW.
- Increase the recycling rate by 70-80%, depending on the type of waste.
- Divert wastes from landfill by 75%.
- Establish 86 drop-off facilities across NSW.
- Reduce litter items by 40%.
- Combat illegal dumping.
The authorities established the strategy in 2014. Six years have passed already, and where are we now? Let us take a look by studying the Sydney residential rubbish statistics of 2020.
Almost Half of the Waste Generated Came From Sydney
Based on the NSW Waste and Resource Recovery Report, 50.3% of the total rubbish from NSW was from Sydney alone. Note that in 27 cities in NSW, half of the overall waste generation is too much even if Sydney is a megacity.
Thus, you must reduce, reuse, and recycle rubbish items if you reside in the Sydney metropolitan area. In this way, you can increase the recycling rate and decrease the landfilling rate simultaneously.
Local Council Pick-ups Recycled 46% of the Total Waste Generated
Out of 1.84 million wastes generated from Sydney, councils diverted about 847,000 of them from the landfills. They were able to send these junks to recycling centres. Compared to the 2018 statistics, this is a decrease from 48.8% recycling rate. According to the authorities, this is mainly because of the alternative waste treatment decision.
Moreover, if you compare the data from the WARR Strategy, we are still far from over. Specifically, we need to achieve a 75% overall recycling rate.
Sydney Had the Highest Waste Generation per Household/Person
On average, 11.9 kg/household/week or 4.4kg/person/week were collected from Sydney. Being a highly-urbanised city, Sydneysiders incline to choose convenience more. Take-out from fast-food restaurants, single-use items, and plastics are just some of the root causes of high waste generation rate.
Imagine if a million people would minimise their waste generation by even just a kilogram, it could make a huge difference already. Different creative recycling ideas are available on the internet for you to follow. Start recycling now to help save our resources and the environment.
Landfilling Rate Intensifies
There was an increase of 2.8% in the overall landfilling rate in NSW. Sydney was responsible for the 993, 381 tonnes (51% of the NSW) of wastes ended up in landfills.
Even though authorities have also launched the Waste Less, Recycle More Initiative, recyclable items are often dumped in landfills, especially bulk items. Heavy and large objects take up too much space in the dumpsite.
Moreover, other waste treatment processes can be quite expensive. So we can still maximise our landfills, you need to practise reducing and recycling waste as much as possible.
Conclusion
Waste management is everyone’s responsibility. Authorities are establishing the guidelines, but it is up to us how we can manage and reduce our overall rubbish generation rate.
There are times when dealing with waste can be quite a hassle. Sorting and disposal require time and effort, especially if you decide to conduct an overall household cleanup. Let us do the heavy and dirty work for you!
Here at Aussie Junk, our expert removalists can segregate and get rid of your unwanted junk, fast and efficiently.
No job is too big or small for us. You can immediately call us when you need help with your junk. Equipped with the right tools, our friendly staff will be at your doorsteps within hours after your call.
Experience the best residential rubbish removal services in Sydney with Aussie Junk! Contact us at 0435 569 921 or send us a message via email.
