4602.0.55.002 - Environmental Issues: Waste Management and Transport Use, Mar 2009 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 20/11/2009  First Issue
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QUALITY DECLARATION - SUMMARY

INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

For information on the institutional environment of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), including the legislative obligations of the ABS, financing and governance arrangements, and mechanisms for scrutiny of ABS operations, please see ABS Institutional Environment.


RELEVANCE

The most recent Waste Management and Transport Use survey was collected in March 2009 and provides data on waste recycling and reuse, disposal of hazardous waste materials, awareness and use of waste disposal or service facilities, the main form of transport to work/full-time study and day-to-day trips, use of public transport, motor vehicle ownership and servicing, and bicycle ownership. The survey was conducted throughout Australia as a supplement to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS).

This survey was limited to people aged 18 years and over who were usual residents of private dwellings, but excluded the following:

  • members of the Australian permanent defence forces;
  • certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, customarily excluded from censuses and surveys;
  • overseas residents in Australia;
  • members of non-Australian defence forces (and their dependents);
  • residents of non-private dwellings such as hospitals, motels and gaols; and
  • persons living in very remote parts of Australia.


    TIMELINESS

    The Waste Management and Transport Use survey is collected triennially during March as a supplement to the ABS monthly LFS. Surveys on this topic have been conducted since 1996. Data from the survey is released approximately eight months after the completion of enumeration (i.e. during November) in the publication, Environmental Issues:Waste Management and Transport Use (cat. no. 4602.0.55.002).


    ACCURACY

    The selected sample for the March 2009 monthly population survey was approximately 22,800 dwellings but only half of these (i.e. 11,400) were selected in the March supplementary topic. There were 9,362 fully responding households and 9,422 fully responding persons. The response rate was approximately 97% after taking into account 'sample loss' (the exclusion of out of scope households/persons, such as vacant dwellings, households/persons in the categories listed in the six dot points above, etc.). See the Explanatory Notes for more information.

    The exclusion of people living in very remote parts of Australia has only a minor impact on aggregate estimates, except for the Northern Territory where these people account for around 19% of the in scope population.

    Estimates in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling errors. The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the size of the sampling error affecting an estimate, i.e. the error introduced by basing estimates on a sample of the population rather than the full population. Non-sampling errors are inaccuracies that occur because of imperfections in reporting by respondents and interviewers, and errors made in coding and processing data.


    COHERENCE

    From 2008, the 3 separate topics under cat. no. 4602.0 Environmental issues: People's Views and Practices (Energy Use and Conservation, Waste Management and Transport Use and Water Use and Conservation) have been renamed and have separate catalogue numbers. This 2009 release is now entitled 'Environmental Issues: Waste Management and Transport Use' (cat. no. 4602.0.55.002).

    While the ABS seeks to maximise consistency and comparability over time by minimising changes to the survey; sound survey practise requires ongoing development to maintain the integrity of the data. For 2009, a few data items and categories have been changed, removed and updated to capture current trends and practices in waste management and transport use. These changes are outlined in the Explanatory notes (paragraph 15).


    INTERPRETABILITY

    The Waste Management and Transport Use publication contains tables with footnoted data and an Introduction and main findings to aid interpretation of the results of the survey. Detailed Explanatory notes, a Technical note and a Glossary are also included providing information on the terminology, classifications and other technical aspects associated with these statistics.


    ACCESSIBILITY

    The main product from the survey is a PDF publication, Environmental Issues: Waste Management and Transport Use (cat. no. 4602.0.55.002), released electronically via the ABS website. In addition to the PDF publication, the tables and associated RSEs are available in spreadsheet form via the ABS website.

    Data is available at State level and State capital city/Balance of state/territory. Additional data may be available on request. Note that detailed data can be subject to high relative standard errors, and in some cases, may result in data being confidentialised.

    For further information about these or related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Centre on 1300 135 070.