Proportion of municipal waste recycled in Australia
Australia: Proportion of municipal waste recycled was 18.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Proportion of municipal waste recycled in Australia, 2007–2021
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
In 2021, proportion of municipal waste recycled in Australia stood at 18.6%.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and down 44.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, proportion of municipal waste recycled in Australia peaked at 33.3% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 18.4%, in 2020.
Australia ranks 39th of 73 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Proportion of municipal waste recycled in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 30.7% | — |
| 2008 | 30.6% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 32.0% | +4.4% |
| 2010 | 32.0% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 33.3% | +4.1% |
| 2012 | 31.7% | -4.7% |
| 2013 | 30.9% | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 30.2% | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 29.4% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 26.6% | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 24.5% | -8.1% |
| 2018 | 22.3% | -8.8% |
| 2019 | 22.3% | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 18.4% | -17.6% |
| 2021 | 18.6% | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.1% | 30.6% | 32.0% | 3 |
| 2010s | 28.3% | 22.3% | 33.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.5% | 18.4% | 18.6% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, gaps filled 25,856 t (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, annual growth rate -32.58 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import value, gaps filled 16,215 1000 USD (2024)
- Newsprint — Import value, annual growth rate -51.76 % change on previous year (2024)
- Printing and writing papers — Import quantity, annual growth rate 23.39 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is proportion of municipal waste recycled in Australia?
- Proportion of municipal waste recycled in Australia was 18.6% in 2021, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest proportion of municipal waste recycled recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 33.3% in 2011.
- What is the lowest proportion of municipal waste recycled recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.4% in 2020.
- How does Australia rank for proportion of municipal waste recycled?
- Australia ranks 39th out of 73 countries with data for 2021.
- Is proportion of municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 44.2%. 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, SDG Global Database, published as part of Proportion of municipal waste recycled (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).