4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 1998
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 03/06/1998
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Waste Management: Household waste management DOMESTIC WASTE STREAM FOR THE CITY OF MITCHAM, ADELAIDE, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 1995
Source: City of Mitcham, 1995, in Australians and the Environment (cat. no. 4601.0). What materials are recycled? The most commonly recycled materials from household waste are paper, glass, plastics, old clothing, cans and kitchen and garden waste. In 1992 and 1996, the Australian Bureau of Statistics surveyed Australian households seeking people's views and practices on environmental issues. Nearly three quarters of households stated that they recycled paper waste in 1996, an increase of nearly 20 percentage points from 1992 when 55% of households stated that they recycled paper. Glass was the next most common material recycled. The reported 73% of households which recycled glass was an increase from the 1992 proportion of 55%. Plastic and old clothing were both recycled by 67% of households in 1996. This was a small increase for clothing (63% in 1992) but a large increase for plastics which had been recycled by only 37% of households in 1992. Although there were generally only small differences in the proportions of households recycling different materials between States, the two Territories had distinctly different rates. The Australian Capital Territory had particularly high proportions of households recycling most materials, for example, 98% recycled paper and 96% recycled glass. The Northern Territory had particularly low proportions of households who recycled, for example, 39% recycled paper and 30% recycled glass. These differences probably reflect the availability of recycling facilities and the economics of transporting recycled materials. The Australian Capital Territory has a comprehensive fortnightly kerbside collection of recyclable materials whereas in 1996 the Northern Territory had extremely low rates of kerbside collection of recyclables. PROPORTION OF HOUSEHOLDS RECYCLING SELECTED MATERIALS
Source: Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, Australia, 1992 and 1996 (cat. no. 4602.0). How households recycle A householder can recycle waste materials in various ways. They can take materials to central collection points (such as clothing, bottle and can bins at a local shopping centre); if available, they can use their own recycling bin that is collected by their local council or private contractor; or they can take materials to collection points at their local dump. Householders can also recycle materials within their own home and garden, for example, by re-using glass containers, composting kitchen scraps and shredding garden waste for composting or use as a mulch. In 1996, about three quarters of households who recycled had recyclable waste collected from their house (though kerbside collection is mainly used to collect paper, glass, cans and plastic containers). The growth in the provision of kerbside collection of recyclable waste has been quite rapid since 1992, when just under half of households who recycled had a kerbside collection service for recycled waste. The use of central collection points has also increased. In 1996, 63% of households who recycled took recyclable waste to a central collection point compared to 53% in 1992. Old clothing in particular is mainly taken to collection points. The use of special areas at dumps remained low and similar between the two surveys: 8% of households who recycled in 1996 and 10% in 1992. Composting or mulching also increased from 45% of households who recycled in 1992 to 54% in 1996. The re-use of materials within the household remained similar, 40% of households recycled in 1996 and 42% in 1992. RECYCLING METHODS OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT RECYCLED
Source: Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, Australia, 1992 and 1996 (cat. no. 4602.0). HOUSEHOLDS(a) RECYCLING METHOD, SELECTED MATERIALS, MARCH 1996
(a) Refers only to households that recycled the surveyed material in each case. (b) Includes composting or mulching and re-use within the household. Source: Environmental Issues, People's Views and Practices, Australia,1996 (cat. no. 4602.0). Households who did not recycle Between 1992 and 1996 the proportion of Australian households that did not recycle fell from 15% to 9%. In 1996, 51% of households that stated a reason for not recycling one or more of the items surveyed said that they did not have enough recyclable materials. 23% stated that they did not have the services or facilities to recycle and 9% stated that they did not have enough storage area. REASONS GIVEN FOR NOT RECYCLING AT LEAST ONE OF THE MATERIALS SURVEYED
Source: Environmental issues, People's Views and Practices, Australia, 1992 and 1996 (cat. no. 4602.0). Hazardous waste disposal In March 1996 only 31% of households were aware of special hazardous waste disposal facilities. Overall, most households that disposed of hazardous waste did so through the usual rubbish collection from the dwelling. Households disposing of motor oil were more likely to take it to a business or a shop (23%) or a special area in a dump (23%) (in both these cases the oil is probably recycled). However, 11% of households disposing of motor oil did so with household rubbish, 7% took it to the general area of a dump and 4% buried the oil. The majority of households disposing of car batteries did so at a business or shop or at a special area at a dump (61%), but 13% put them out with the household rubbish or took them to the general area of a dump. HOUSEHOLD(a) DISPOSAL OF HAZARDOUS WASTE, SELECTED ITEMS, MARCH 1996
(a) Refers only to households that disposed of hazardous waste. Source: Environmental issues, People's Views and Practices, Australia (cat. no. 4602.0). Endnotes 1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996, Australians and the Environment, cat. no. 4601.0, ABS, Canberra.
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