What a load of rubbish

The average Australian household generates around 1.5 tonnes of waste a year, the Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed this week.

Altogether, Australian households generated almost 12.5 million tonnes of waste, nearly half of which was organic waste and nearly a quarter was paper and cardboard.

As part of a new, experimental, environmental economic account, the ABS found that the supply of waste management services in 2009-10 was worth just over $9.5 billion, while income made from waste products was worth over $4.5 billion. Previously, data was used simply to estimate the volume of waste being generated and/or recycled.