Many Australians are struggling to work out which bin to put their household rubbish in, getting stumped more than 40% of the time, with Queensland and NSW getting it wrong the most.
According to a new survey of mainland states commissioned by Veolia in April, 77% of people still don’t know how to dispose of compostable coffee cups, and 78% have no idea what to do with empty vapes and e-cigarettes.
The nationally representative YouGov survey of 1,172 Australians across the five mainland states found Queensland residents were most likely to put more rubbish in the general waste bin compared to any other state.
Shocking rresults by waste category across Australia found that less than half knew how to dispose of old hand tools, biodegradable plastic bags, and dead animals.
Veolia ANZ CEO Dr Richard Kirkman said the results offered a window into how Australians deal with household waste, and where we need to improve education to impact recycling rates.
“There are clear household recycling success stories right across the country, like plastic bottles and paper, where most of us know exactly what to do,” Dr Kirkman said.
“However, there are also some concerning statistics around disposal of vapes, and items labelled as ‘compostable or biodegradable’ that really belong in general waste bins.
“There is a big difference between what is recyclable and what can be recycled ― especially at industrial scale. Not everything that is recyclable is recycled.”
Australians get it right nearly every time when it comes to correctly disposing of plastic drink bottles (92%), paper (87%) and garden waste (82%).
A vast majority (86%) also know where to dispose of old clothing ― special drop-off points or the general waste bin ― but as so many charities report, it is distinguishing between what can be resold and what has reached the end of its life that remains troublesome. Even as far back as 2019, 10,000 tonnes of unusable clothes were being sent by charities to landfill every year.
Almost three3 out of four4 people (72%) in the mainland states think compostable single-use coffee cups can be recycled, and more than half think bamboo and wood cutlery (63%) and biodegradable plastic bags (58%) are recyclable. All three should go in the general waste bin, and then to landfill.
“The most shocking result is how we dispose of dead animals, with 38% of people putting them in the wrong bin and even more, 42%, not knowing what to do at all,” Dr Kirkman said.
“However, the greatest concern for the entire waste industry are vapes and batteries that go on to cause fires in our trucks, waste facilities and in landfill. These directly put the lives of our workers and the community at risk.”
The survey found 39% of respondents didn’t know how to dispose of vapes, and another 39% thought they went in kerbside bins.
The majority agreed they would use a kerbside service that picks up vapes / e-cigarettes (59%) or supermarket drop-off points (67%) if they were available.
Batteries are disposed of better than vapes, but still 35% of those surveyed thought batteries belonged in kerbside bins and 6% didn’t know how to dispose of them at all.
“Based on the survey’s figures, around 40% of people in mainland states are likely disposing of batteries incorrectly and 79% are likely disposing of vapes incorrectly,” Dr Kirkman said.
“That tells us the issue of vapes and batteries ending up in our bins and roadsides is not going to go away without significant public education around their proper disposal.
“Governments at all levels and businesses need to come together to find ways to invest resources in education and to find effective and safe collection solutions that will remove them entirely from kerbside bins. This is a public safety imperative.”
Every state and territory in Australia is moving towards Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) collections with evidence showing that a three-bin system that includes FOGO can lift recycling rates to 70%
Good quality FOGO waste is transformed into nutrient-rich compost that can be used on agricultural land and even home gardens.
“Compost made from FOGO has no added chemicals and has a high nutrient value. It is probably second only in quality to the compost made by avid gardeners in their own backyard. Best of all, it makes for a truly circular economy when it comes to food waste,” Dr Kirkman said.
Queensland residents were revealed as the least likely to own a FOGO bin at just 34%.
Nearly all of those surveyed agreed that instructions on which waste goes into which bin should be clearly displayed on the bins themselves (94%).
An even larger number (95%) agreed that the products we buy needed to clearly indicate the method of disposal for the packaging, and for the product itself.
“The fact that Australians want clear instructions on products, packaging and bins tells us that they want to do the right thing with their waste so they can plan an active role in creating a sustainable circular economy,” Dr Kirkman said.
Information provided by Veolia.
