Circular economy

Metrics

Waste generation per person
Proportion of waste recovered for reuse, recycling or energy
Circularity rate
Material footprint per capita
Material productivity

Why this matters

Australians are aware of the impact of using resources and are strongly invested in participating in a more sustainable, circular economy where materials are used more efficiently and are recycled, reused and repaired.

Progress

Waste

In 2020-21:

2.95 tonnes of waste was generated per person, down from 3.05 tonnes per person in 2006-07
63% of waste was recovered for reuse, recycling or energy, equating to 45.4 million tonnes of material recovered from 75.8 million tonnes of waste generated
the proportion of waste recovered increased from 2006-07 (50%).

Waste generation per person and the proportion of waste recovered for reuse, recycling or energy (a)(b)
	Waste generation per person (c) (Tonnes per capita)	Waste recovered (c) (%)
2006-07	3.05	50
2008-09	3.04	49
2009-10	3.02	52
2010-11	2.96	57
2013-14	2.81	60
2014-15	2.79	59
2015-16	2.8	59
2016-17	2.86	61
2017-18	2.95	62
2018-19	2.95	63
2019-20	2.94	63
2020-21	2.95	63

Waste generation per person and the proportion of waste recovered for reuse, recycling or energy (a)(b)

["","Waste generation per person (c)","Waste recovered (c)"]

[["2006-07","2008-09","2009-10","2010-11","2013-14","2014-15","2015-16","2016-17","2017-18","2018-19","2019-20","2020-21"],[[3.0499999999999998],[3.04],[3.02],[2.96],[2.8100000000000001],[2.79],[2.7999999999999998],[2.8599999999999999],[2.9500000000000002],[2.9500000000000002],[2.9399999999999999],[2.9500000000000002]],[[50],[49],[52],[57],[60],[59],[59],[61],[62],[63],[63],[63]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false},{"value":"1","axis_id":"1","axis_title":"Tonnes per capita","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(Tonnes per capita)","table_units":"(Tonnes per capita)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":"10","tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Data not available for 2007-08, 2011-12, 2012-13
Waste generation is measured per person. Waste recovered is the proportion of waste recovered for reuse, recycling or energy.
Includes core waste plus ash

Data Source

DCCEEW National Waste Report 2022

Circular economy

In 2023:

the circularity rate was 4.4%, the same as it was in 2022, and up from 3.8% in 2010
Australia's circularity rate remains lower than the global circularity rate (7.2%)
Australia's material footprint per capita was 31.0 tonnes, the lowest it has been since 2010 (37.6 tonnes)
Australia's material productivity on a domestic material consumption basis was $1.58 AUD/kg, up from $1.45 AUD/kg in 2010.

Circularity rate (a)(b)
	Circularity rate (%)
2010	3.8
2011	4.1
2012	4.2
2013	4.3
2014	4.1
2015	4.2
2016	4.5
2017	4.1
2018	4.3
2019	4.6
2020	4.6
2021	4.5
2022	4.4
2023	4.4

Circularity rate (a)(b)

["","Circularity rate"]

[["2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023"],[[3.7999999999999998],[4.0999999999999996],[4.2000000000000002],[4.2999999999999998],[4.0999999999999996],[4.2000000000000002],[4.5],[4.0999999999999996],[4.2999999999999998],[4.5999999999999996],[4.5999999999999996],[4.5],[4.4000000000000004],[4.4000000000000004]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"2","axis_max":"6","tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Different metrics are used to assess the circularity of national economies, the most common metrics for international comparison are materials-focused. The circulatory rate measures the proportion of materials used by a country that are not ‘virgin’ materials and describes how efficiently resources are reused and recycled within a system.
Data provided by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, informed from research by the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation.

Data Source

Data supplied by DCCEEW (b)

Material footprint per capita (a)
	Material footprint (b) (tonnes per capita)
2010	37.6
2011	37.0
2012	36.2
2013	34.0
2014	34.1
2015	32.3
2016	32.0
2017	34.0
2018	33.4
2019	33.3
2020	31.3
2021	31.9
2022	32.0
2023	31.0

Material footprint per capita (a)

["","Material footprint (b)"]

[["2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023"],[[37.600000000000001],[37],[36.200000000000003],[34],[34.100000000000001],[32.299999999999997],[32],[34],[33.399999999999999],[33.299999999999997],[31.300000000000001],[31.899999999999999],[32],[31]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"tonnes per capita","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(tonnes per capita)","table_units":"(tonnes per capita)","axis_min":"25","axis_max":"40","tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Data provided by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, informed from research by the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation.
The total amount of raw materials per person consumed to make products or services used in Australia.

Data Source

Data supplied by DCCEEW (a)

Material productivity (a)(b)
	Material productivity (c) (AUD/kg)
2010	1.45
2011	1.46
2012	1.50
2013	1.52
2014	1.48
2015	1.52
2016	1.65
2017	1.50
2018	1.51
2019	1.48
2020	1.56
2021	1.56
2022	1.56
2023	1.58

Material productivity (a)(b)

["","Material productivity (c)"]

[["2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023"],[[1.45],[1.46],[1.5],[1.52],[1.48],[1.52],[1.6499999999999999],[1.5],[1.51],[1.48],[1.5600000000000001],[1.5600000000000001],[1.5600000000000001],[1.5800000000000001]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"AUD\/kg","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(AUD\/kg)","table_units":"(AUD\/kg)","axis_min":"1","axis_max":"2","tick_interval":null,"precision":"2","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Material productivity has been presented on a domestic material consumption basis.
Data provided by Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, informed from research by the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation.
Material productivity measures the efficiency with which raw materials (such as metals, minerals, and biomass) are used in production processes. Higher material productivity indicates that the economy is generating more output with less material input, reducing material waste and environmental impact. Refer to the OECD sustainable development indicators for further information.

Data Source

Data supplied by DCCEEW (b)