Educational Fact Sheets:

Aluminium
Garden Organics
Glass
Hazardous waste and chemicals
Paper and cardboard
Plastics
Steel
The Earth's Resources
The Three R's

How good are Australians at recycling? What difference can responsible waste management make? Take a look at these interesting facts and figures:

• In some NSW council areas, households are recycling nearly 46% of their waste!
• Australians are among the best newspapers recyclers in the world, recycling 74.5% of newspapers in 2005.
• In 2005, Australians recycled 2.3 billion aluminum cans. That's 600 million more than ten years ago.
• We are among the highest producers of waste, per person, in the world.  
• An estimated 7 billion cigarette butts end up in Australian waterways, streets and parklands each year.
• 80 million plastic bags end up as litter in Australia each year - creating a serious threat to our precious marine life.
• Recycling one tonne of plastic saves enough energy to run a refrigerator for a month.
• Recyclable material makes up almost 80% of total household waste in Australia.
• Over the past 15 years volunteers on Clean Up Australia Day have collected over 200,000 tonnes of rubbish. That's 4.7 million household wheelie bins!
  
  Every 10 tonnes of recyclable materials recovered is equivalent to:
  • Taking four cars off the road permanently;
  • Providing a year's electricity for 14.5 households; and
  Saving enough water to fill 3.5 average backyard swimming pools.
  
  Sources:
  Cleanup
  Department of the Environment and Water Resources

  Planet Ark
  
  Other:
  
  Did you know? Read about recycling and waste management facts
  
  What to do with? Find out how to recycle an item or where to dispose of it responsibly
  
  Useful links Find out more about educational resources and subjects for students with these handy links.
  
  Glossary Need to know the meaning of a waste management term or reference? Find it in our online glossary.