MEDIA RELEASE
1 May 2014	Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time) Waste management worth $10.4 billion	51/2014

Waste management services in Australia were a $10.4 billion industry in 2010-11, according to a new publication released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

"The supply of waste management services was up by nearly $1 billion on the previous year, and there was also an increase in the sales of recyclable or recoverable waste." said Mark Lound from the ABS.

"The value of sales of waste went from $4.6 billion in 2009-10 to $5.4 billion in 2010-11.

"Household expenditure on waste management services - which is mostly municipal rates - rose slightly; households spent $1.9 billion on waste management, up by nine percent from 2009-10.

"The total amount of waste generated in Australia was just over 53 million tonnes, down from 54 million tonnes in 2009-10.

"The construction industry and households were the main waste creators, each producing just over 14 million tonnes. Waste produced by the construction industry decreased by 1.6 million tonnes or 10 percent from 2009-10.

"In 2010-11, a total of 31 million tonnes of waste was recovered, and 22 million tonnes sent to landfill. This is a fall of 14 percent in the amount of waste going to landfill from the previous year.

"Masonry remains the most recovered type of waste material, accounting for just over a third of all recovered waste," said Mr Lound.

Waste Account, Australia aligns with the United Nations System of Environmental Accounts that became an international standard in 2012.

Further information can be found in Waste Account, Australia (cat. no. 4602.0.55.006) available for free download from the ABS website.

Media notes:

• When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
• Media requests and interviews - contact the ABS Communications Section on 1300 175 070