Municipal waste recycled in Australia
Australia: Municipal waste recycled was 2.42 million tonnes in 2021. ▼ Falling
Municipal waste recycled in Australia, 2003–2021
Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2021, municipal waste recycled in Australia stood at 2.42 million tonnes.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.2% on the previous year and down 46.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Australia peaked at 4.53 million tonnes in 2011 and was at its lowest, 2.28 million tonnes, in 2020.
That places Australia 20th out of 86 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.76 million tonnes | 2.70 million tonnes | 4.31 million tonnes | 4 |
| 2010s | 3.80 million tonnes | 2.82 million tonnes | 4.53 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.35 million tonnes | 2.28 million tonnes | 2.42 million tonnes | 2 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 591.45 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 21.75 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 84.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.4769 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 43.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1578 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 144.58 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.104 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1978 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 15.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycled in Australia?
- Municipal waste recycled in Australia was 2.42 million tonnes in 2021, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 4.53 million tonnes in 2011.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.28 million tonnes in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for municipal waste recycled?
- Australia ranks 20th out of 86 countries with data for 2021.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 46.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes)