Bottle Waste Statistics Australia

Despite living in a water-scarce country, Australians consumed about 13,449 gigalitres (GL) of water in 2021-22. That’s nearly 27 times the volume of Sydney Harbour. Along with this massive thirst for water consumption is the flood of bottle waste in the beaches, parks, and waterways.

Clean Up 2023 collected 31,566 beverage bottles, ranking third as the most common litter. As these discarded plastic bottles skyrocket, they contribute to the possibility that plastic litter in the ocean will outweigh fish by 2050!

Let’s explore the eye-opening statistics regarding Australia’s bottle waste and gain data-driven insights on its environmental impact and recycling trends. 

Overview of Bottle Waste in Australia

Globally, 20,000 plastic bottles are produced every second, and consumers purchase about one million of these plastic bottles every minute. That figure is likely to increase up to 20% by 2021. Let’s understand how enormous bottle waste is in the Australian landscape.

Annual Bottle Waste Generation & Breakdown

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) reported that Australians consumed about 1.708 million tonnes of bottles in 2018-19. Three-quarters of these bottles are glass (1.283 kt), while the remaining are plastic (425 kt). That’s equal to discarding bottle mounds as heavy as 340,000 average-sized cars!

While glass bottles have minimal consequences, the problem lies with their plastic counterparts. In 2018-19, consumed plastic bottles accounted for 12% of Australia's plastic consumption (3.5 Mt). Out of all this, only 11% of the total plastic waste stream (3.93 kt) went straight to recycling facilities, while the rest ended in landfills and even waterways.

Environmental Impact of Bottle Waste

Have you ever wondered what’s propelling the country’s surging bottle waste? The clever, powerful marketing of beverages drives this bottle waste boom. About 5.3 million Aussies even drank bottled beverages weekly in 2015. 

As individuals increasingly fuel this beverage consumption, more bottles will likely end elsewhere. Let’s glimpse the environmental impact of the country’s growing bottle waste.

Impact of Plastic Bottle Waste on Oceans and Wildlife

WWF Australia reported that about 600 million plastic bottles flow into the ocean annually. That’s only a remnant of the 5 billion single-use drink bottles Aussies use yearly, weighing around 325,000 tonnes. Besides decomposing for centuries, these plastic bottles only break down into microplastics.

Due to their size, microplastics from bottle waste can easily make their way to the food chain. It’s even estimated that plastic pollution kills 100,000 marine mammals every year. At worst, it doesn’t stop there, threatening marine animals and humans in the centuries to come.

Glass Bottle Waste in Landfills

Since glass bottles take a long time to decompose, their sheer volume alone can congest landfills. Australia consumes roughly 1.36 million tonnes of glass bottles and jars annually, often piling up unrecycled. This stockpiling issue accelerates the need for new landfills and encroaches on the country’s natural habitats.

Carbon Footprint of Single-Use Bottles

A 2021 life cycle assessment revealed that single-use bottle types have varying carbon footprints. For example, an 8.3-gram PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle emits 50 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents). When multiplied by at least 100 kt, that equates to over 600,000 tonnes of CO2e, or similar to 611 million pounds of coal burned!

On the other hand, a 300-gram glass bottle produces a greenhouse gas emission of about 383 tonnes of CO2e. That’s equivalent to the emissions from 82.7 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven in one year. In other words, single-use glass bottles have a higher carbon footprint than PET bottles and other container types.

Bottle Recycling Trends and Rates in Australia

So, what’s hampering the recycling rate of bottle waste in Australia? One key reason is the myriad types and categories of bottles, making it difficult to sort and recycle optimally. Let’s explore more about this.

Current Recycling Rates for Bottles in Australia

While most glass bottles remain stockpiled and often unrecycled, Australia’s plastic bottle recycling rate is also low. The country recycles only 36% of PET plastic drink bottles, followed by HDPE (23%) and LDPE (9%) plastic containers. 

With such low recycling rates, around 373 million bottles still become waste yearly. Simply put, most bottles you use daily are rarely given a second life. While this calls for robust recycling infrastructure, opting for reusable containers is crucial to reducing this bottle waste problem. According to  Sydney’s recycling guide for glass, jars and bottles, recycling a single glass bottle can conserve sufficient energy to function a computer for 25 minutes.  

State-based Recycling Rates and Differences

Despite remaining low, states are making strides to catapult bottle waste recycling. Strong incentives for returning beverage containers enable robust bottle recycling. Here are the states’ return rates for discarded, used containers and bottles bound for recycling:

• South Australia: 77%
• Northern Territory: 75%
• New South Wales: 65%
• Australian Capital Territory: 75%
• Queensland: 63%
• Western Australia: 59%

Although these bottle collection rates are promising, access to collection points still needs to be improved for most remote areas. More adequate facilities and better public awareness are also barriers to driving bottle recycling. Not to mention that market demand for these collected and recycled containers varies across states.

Challenges in Bottle Recycling

Why is it difficult to recycle bottles? One prime reason is that bottles often contain caps, labels, and other non-recyclable components that can contaminate the recycling stream. Contamination can also happen when these used bottles still have leftover food or drink residue.

While the collection rate is high in most states, inadequate recycling facilities also hamper bottle recycling. Another barrier is manual sorting, which is time-consuming, labour-intensive, and prone to errors. Even coloured bottles cannot be recycled alongside clear bottles. 

Beyond these issues, bottles require high temperatures to melt and transform into new ones. Such an energy-intensive process deters many recyclers. That’s why advancing recycling technologies and rallying public support is key to slingshot bottle recycling efforts.

Reducing Bottle Waste with Container Deposit Schemes (CDS)

The Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) refunds you for returning beverage containers and bottles for recycling. This financial incentive comes from your initial deposit fee (10c) when purchasing a beverage in a container. Once emptied, these bottles can be returned to designated collection points or reversed vending machines to get your deposit back.

So, what happens to these collected containers? The returned bottles are then transported and sorted into recycling facilities, where they are converted into new materials. This convenient scheme has bolstered bottle recycling rates and reduced container litter in most states.

For example, South Australia has maintained a recycling rate of 77% in recent decades, reducing bottle litter by 2.8%. Meanwhile, the Northern Territory has increased its container recycling to 75%, up 46% since 2012. After Tasmania and Victoria began this scheme in 2023, Australia was the first continent to implement the CDS fully to trim bottle waste at scale.

Sustainable Alternatives and Practices for Reducing Bottle Waste

The single-use culture drives more bottles into the waste stream. For instance, brands market single-use bottled water as superior quality and more secure for consumption than tap. That’s why refillable bottles are a sustainable option for Australians to ditch single-use bottles. 

One viable option to scale the use of refillable bottles is for states to increase water drinking stations. That way, people will find it convenient to bring such refillable bottles wherever they are. WWF Australia’s We-Refill provides refill options and encourages people to bring their own bottles, reducing the need for 454,324 plastic bottles. 

Meanwhile, Returnr provides reusable packaging and containers for food and beverages, eliminating single-use waste. Fleurieu Milk, on the other hand, initiated another game-changing refillable bottle program. The company’s 18-litre keg of milk eliminates nine 2-litre plastic bottles. Over a lifetime, one keg sidesteps the need for 7,000 single-use plastic bottles (almost 300 kg)!

Without the need to go above and beyond, opting for refillable bottles and engaging with recycling programs are eco-conscious choices that contribute to a more sustainable future.

Secure A Responsible Bottle Disposal With Us

The excessive single-use culture has contributed to Australia’s surging bottle waste crisis. While these bottles take centuries to degrade, they will likely congest landfills, waterways, and oceans. Reducing reliance on single-use bottles and taking proactive steps in proper waste disposal minimises these grim consequences.

At All Gone Rubbish Removals, we’ve been helping Sydneysiders responsibly dispose of all bottle waste types. We have a decade-long industry experience in eco-friendly bottle waste collection and recycling. We provide same-day, affordable rubbish removal to eliminate the unsightly bottle mounds on your properties. 

All Gone Rubbish Removals provides same-day rubbish removal services across Sydney, the Central Coast, Gosford, Newcastle, and the Gold Coast. Call us today for the best-priced rubbish removal service in your area!

Frequently Asked Questions 

How much bottle waste is generated in Australia each year?

Australia consumed about 1.708 million tonnes of bottles in 2018-19, split approximately 1:3 between glass and plastic containers. A staggering 1.36 million glass bottles and containers remain stockpiled annually, accumulating in recycling plants, landfills, and waterways.

What types of bottles contribute most to waste in Australia?

While thousands of bottle compositions exist, composite plastic items contribute most to Australia's bottle waste problems. For example, PET bottles often have HDPE lids that cannot be recycled together. Even small contaminants can degrade recycled plastics' quality, suggesting why these bottle types frequently remain stockpiled and unrecycled. 

How effective are Australia’s container deposit schemes in reducing bottle waste?

Australia’s CDS has remained promising in recent years. The scheme collection networks maintain recycling rates at 50% upwards, compared to 15% for kerbside bins. The CDS also effectively lowers littered beverage items, reaching a 48% reduction in states like Queensland. With minimal contamination in collected containers, the CDS generates higher-quality recycled materials.

Can plastic bottles be recycled in Australia?

Absolutely. Even though plastic bottle recycling is energy-intensive, this reduces the need to use finite, non-renewable sources like petroleum and raw materials. In most cases, shredded plastic bottles turn into pellets that can be reused to create new bottles and products.

How does All Gone Rubbish Removals handle bottle waste disposal?

As Sydney’s industry leader, All Gone Rubbish Removals provides reliable bottle waste disposal. We offer comprehensive collection and recycling services to ensure your bottle waste is handled responsibly. We’re equipped to haul bottle waste from residential and commercial properties, providing swift and hassle-free rubbish removal.