Waste statistics

Waste statistics – did you know?

What is waste?
Waste is any material that is discarded, unwanted or discharged by the current owner-the material may or may not have some economic value. These materials may be generated as solids, liquids or gases. Council is actively working to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by encouraging recycling and beneficial reuse of waste. 

How much waste is generated in the Wollongong Council region?

The reason for the increase of waste to landfill in 1998-99 was due to the effects of a serious storm in August 1998 that generated 13,000 tonnes of additional material. The decrease in the domestic waste collection in 1998-99 was due to the introduction of the green waste collection service.

What domestic waste collection service is provided to residents?
We have a ‘state of the art’ domestic waste collection service which features:

• a red topped garbage bin (serviced weekly) in a choice of three sizes (80, 120 and 240 litre) with cost incentives for smaller size bins. Presently 95% of households use either the 80 litre or 120 litre garbage bins;
• a 240 litre green waste bin (serviced fortnightly) for collection of garden and lawn clippings;
• a 240 litre yellow topped recycle bin (serviced fortnightly) for collecting paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and containers (numbered 1, 2,4, 5 and 6,), steel and aluminium cans, glass, milk and juice cartons.
• an annual household cleanup service for unwanted household items, e.g. furniture, small appliances.

Recycling materials collected – tonnages

What is contamination?
Contamination occurs when an item appears appear in the wrong type of bin.

How well do Wollongong residents manage their waste?

• The average household in Wollongong generates:
• 8.6kg of material in their total garbage stream each week in 2002 compared with 12.8 kg in 1997;
• 6.6 kg of recyclable material in their yellow top recycle bin each fortnight in 2002 compared to 6.1kg in 1997;
• The total amount of waste generated by residents includes:
• 19% recyclable materials (8.8% paper and cardboard and 10.2% containers) for which a current recycling service is provided;
• 2% vegetation;
• 43.3% food and compostables;
• Recycling bin proportions:
• Cans:
• 75.5% glass;
• 6.8% steel cans;
• 5.4% PET plastic;
• 5.1% HDPE plastic;
• Paper:
• 66.1% newspapers and magazines;
• 15.1% cardboard;
• 7.3% other paper;
• Percentage of material recovery:
• 96.5% green waste;
• 77% of paper;
• 66.6% of containers.

Great news for recycling…..overall, recycling recovery (not including green waste), has increased from 58.4% in 1997 to 71.9% in 2002.

How does the community feel about Council’s domestic waste collection service?
The 2003 Community Survey included the opinions and comments from over 500 of our City’s residents. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of each of the 29 council services and facilities. The garbage collection and disposal service rated as the most important service that Council provides. The majority of residents interviewed agreed that recycling was actively encouraged and that the green waste collection and waste disposal is well managed within our region. These three statements were in the top four statements which were agreed upon by the majority of residents surveyed.

Waste minimisation legislation and policy in NSW
The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2001 consolidates the best principles of the previous Waste Minimisation and Management Act 1995 and clearly reflects the community’s view that waste must be treated as a resource. It provides a clear sense of purpose to reduce the waste we generate, optimise the recovery of useable resources from waste and manage residual waste in an environmentally responsible way. 

The new Act reinforces the importance of waste avoidance as the primary goal. Resource NSW is a state government agency created under the Act. The strategy sets out:
• where we are now;
• where we want to be in the future;
• the challenges we face to reach our future goals. 

Sources:
• Wollongong City Council 2003 Community Survey. Prepared by IRIS Research Ltd; May 2003.
• Domestic Waste Audit of Wollongong City Council.  Prepared by A Prince Consulting; September 2002.
• The NSW Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2003; Resource NSW.