Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Australia

Australia: Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation was 543 Kilogrammes per person in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
543 Kilogrammes per person
Change on year
up 5.4%
World rank
9th
of 34 countries
All-time high
619 Kilogrammes per person
in 2007
All-time low
496 Kilogrammes per person
in 2019
Years of data
12
2007–2021

Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Australia, 2007–2021

02004006002007201420212007: 619 Kilogrammes per person2009: 615 Kilogrammes per person2010: 615 Kilogrammes per person2011: 603 Kilogrammes per person2014: 587 Kilogrammes per person2015: 586 Kilogrammes per person2016: 538 Kilogrammes per person2017: 513 Kilogrammes per person2018: 506 Kilogrammes per person2019: 496 Kilogrammes per person2020: 515 Kilogrammes per person2021: 543 Kilogrammes per person

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Kilogrammes per person.

Analysis

Australia recorded 543 Kilogrammes per person for waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation in 2021.

That represents a change of up 5.4% on the previous year and down 10.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation in Australia peaked at 619 Kilogrammes per person in 2007 and was at its lowest, 496 Kilogrammes per person, in 2019.

That places Australia 9th out of 34 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.

Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Australia, year by year

Annual values for Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Australia, 2007 to 2021.
Year Kilogrammes per person Change
2007 619 Kilogrammes per person
2009 615 Kilogrammes per person -0.6%
2010 615 Kilogrammes per person +0.0%
2011 603 Kilogrammes per person -2.0%
2014 587 Kilogrammes per person -2.7%
2015 586 Kilogrammes per person -0.2%
2016 538 Kilogrammes per person -8.2%
2017 513 Kilogrammes per person -4.6%
2018 506 Kilogrammes per person -1.4%
2019 496 Kilogrammes per person -2.0%
2020 515 Kilogrammes per person +3.8%
2021 543 Kilogrammes per person +5.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 617 Kilogrammes per person 615 Kilogrammes per person 619 Kilogrammes per person 2
2010s 555.5 Kilogrammes per person 496 Kilogrammes per person 615 Kilogrammes per person 8
2020s 529 Kilogrammes per person 515 Kilogrammes per person 543 Kilogrammes per person 2

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 6 Israel 647 Kilogrammes per person compare
  2. 7 Ireland 626 Kilogrammes per person
  3. 8 Malta 567 Kilogrammes per person compare
  4. 9 Denmark 543 Kilogrammes per person compare
  5. 11 Czechia 538 Kilogrammes per person compare
  6. 12 France 529 Kilogrammes per person compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More environment data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation in Australia?
Waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation in Australia was 543 Kilogrammes per person in 2021, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 619 Kilogrammes per person in 2007.
What is the lowest waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 496 Kilogrammes per person in 2019.
How does Australia rank for waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation?
Australia ranks 9th out of 34 countries with data for 2021.
Is waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 10.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/waste-treatment-regions-municipal-waste-generation/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation
Unit
Kilogrammes per person
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
38 places, 734 data points, 1995–2023
Last refreshed

This dataset provides statistics on municipal waste and wastewater treatment in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions. Data definition and source Municipal waste data covers total amount municipal waste collected, recovered municipal waste and municipal waste used in controlled landfilling. Recovered municipal waste is defined as waste that undergoes material recycling or other forms of recovery (including energy recovery, composting), excluding landfilling. Wasterwater treated is measured by the share of population connected to at least secondary wastewater treatment. Data is collected via delegates of the OECD Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), as well as from national statistical offices' websites. Definition of regions Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). The OECD regions are presented in the OECD Territorial grid (pdf) and in the OECD Territorial correspondence table (xlsx). Cite this dataset OECD Regions and Cities databases http://oe.cd/geostats Further information The interactive web-tool OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas The report OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance Contact: RegionStat@oecd.org