Waste and recycling 2024

Managing waste and transitioning to a circular economy are crucial for minimising the environmental impact of human activities.

‘Waste’ is material that:

• has been discarded after its primary use
• is an unintended and unused byproduct of a natural or industrial process.

For the purposes of managing waste in NSW, a more precise definition is used.

Waste has a number of impacts on the environment and economy.

Accumulation of waste can lead to leaching of pollutants into air, water and land. This has an impact on natural processes and amenity.

Waste products may be ingested by animals, for example, seabirds swallow plastics in the ocean. This impacts the survival and reproduction of the affected animals.

Economically, waste can be costly to remove, process or manage. Waste results in a loss of resources from our economy.

The impacts of waste can be addressed through the transition to a circular economy.

A circular economy values resources by keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible.

Examples of this process include:

• designing products that last longer and can be easily repaired and reused
• ensuring the materials used in a product are still valuable for other purposes when consumers have finished using it.

Maximising the use and value of resources brings major economic, social and environmental benefits. It contributes to innovation, growth and job creation, while reducing our impact on the environment.

Increasingly, governments are using the circular economy concept to steer industry into more sustainable practices.

Complete circularity would exist if all waste was reused, recycled or reprocessed. We are far from achieving this.

NSW creates about one-third of Australia’s total waste ().

Waste generated in NSW is forecast to grow from 21 million tonnes in 2021 to nearly 37 million tonnes by 2041 (). This is related to the State’s continued increase in population, economic growth and product consumption and disposal.

In 2022–23 NSW generated 891,000 tonnes of plastic waste. Only 14% of this material was recycled ().

In the five years to 2022–23, on average only around 13% of the State’s plastic waste was recycled each year (), out of an annual average of 850,000 tonnes generated. This is despite plastic being a common waste product for over 50 years.

New waste products and trends are emerging, such as a rise in waste from renewable energy. It is forecast that by 2025 NSW will generate 3,000 to 10,000 tonnes of photovoltaic solar panel and battery storage system waste per year (). This will rise to between 40,000 and 71,000 tonnes per year by 2035.

Floods, bushfires and other disasters create a lot of ‘disaster waste’. This impacts future landfill capacity. It may also damage facilities and disrupt local services.

It is likely that disaster waste volumes will increase with climate change and increased weather variability.

Current waste management challenges

NSW is on the brink of a waste crisis and is facing urgent challenges to enabling a safe circular economy (; ; ):

• Landfills servicing households, businesses and major infrastructure projects in Greater Sydney are expected to run out of space by 2030, or possibly earlier. Without intervention, waste will need to be sent into regional NSW or interstate for disposal, which is likely to worsen cost-of-living pressures for households due to the additional transport costs and delay the delivery of critical infrastructure across the state.
• The NSW waste levy’s effectiveness as an incentive for resource recovery has diminished, meaning that recycling rates in NSW have stagnated at 65% of the waste we generate. Consequently, high volumes of valuable material are being landfilled that could otherwise be recovered and recycled, placing additional pressure on already constrained landfills.
• Hazardous and problematic materials like asbestos, batteries and harmful chemicals are making resource recovery difficult, costly, and high-risk as they continue to enter the waste stream. These materials pose a threat to human life and property, and are undermining industry’s willingness and confidence to invest in urgently needed waste and recycling infrastructure.

In addition, discrete Aboriginal communities in NSW (previously Aboriginal reserves or missions) continue to experience the harmful effects of legacy waste, contamination and illegal dumping. This is due to a lack of adequate waste management and recycling services.

See the topic for more information on waste in discrete Aboriginal communities.

Managing waste and recycling

Waste and recycling in NSW are subject to a combination of state and federal policies.

The Australian Government is responsible for export controls on waste materials. Nationally agreed plans and goals guide state and territory legislation.

The NSW Government is committed to the State becoming a circular economy.

It is committed to fulfilling the targets and actions set by the National Waste Policy (). It also supports other national goals for waste and recycling.

See the Responses section for more details.

NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041

The NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041: Stage 1 2021–2027 () sets out the first stage of a 20-year vision for the State’s transition to a circular economy.

The strategy sets a vision to:

• meet future infrastructure and service needs as waste volume and population continues to grow
• reduce carbon emissions through better waste and materials management
• protect the environment and human health from waste pollution caused by littering, illegal dumping and the mishandling of hazardous wastes.

The strategy sets targets to:

• reduce total waste generated by 10% per person by 2030
• have an 80% average recovery rate from all waste streams by 2030
• significantly increase the use of recycled content by governments and industry
• phase out problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025
• halve the amount of organic waste sent to landfill by 2030
• reduce litter by 60% by 2030 and plastics litter by 30% by 2025
• triple the plastics recycling rate by 2030.

Approaches within this strategy to improve outcomes regarding waste include:

• reviewing the NSW waste levy to make recycling more cost effective
• phasing out problematic single-use plastic items and incentivising manufacturers and producers to design out problematic plastics
• having government agencies preference recycled content
• introducing tighter environmental controls for energy from waste in NSW, with further consideration of planning and waste infrastructure needs
• mandates on collection of organic waste from households and select businesses
• programs to incentivise investment in waste and circular economy activities.

The strategy is underpinned by legislation and supported by several plans and policies (see Table P4.1).

Common terms in waste

Waste is categorised into broad ‘streams’ based on the origin of the material. These waste categories are used throughout this topic. They include:

• municipal solid waste – generated by households and local government operations, and mostly consists of paper/cardboard, plastics, glass, food and garden waste
• commercial and industrial waste – generated by businesses, industries and institutions, and mainly contains metals, plastics, food, paper, cardboard and wood
• construction and demolition waste – generated by building and demolition activities, and includes bricks, concrete and soil, as well as problem waste (such as material containing asbestos).

Other common waste types (based on origin, properties or processing) discussed in this topic include:

• e-waste (electrical and electronic items)
• problem waste (such as tyres and batteries)
• controlled waste, which includes hazardous and trackable waste (some waste must be tracked when it is transported to ensure it does not cause harm in transit)
• disaster waste (generated by floods, bushfires and other natural disasters)
• litter
• illegally dumped waste.

Waste performance data

Unless otherwise indicated, most of the reporting in this topic is based on NSW waste and recycling performance data () prepared by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

This includes data from the Waste and Resource Reporting Portal (WARRP). WARRP is the EPA’s online reporting tool for licensed waste facilities, including disposal and resource recovery facilities.

The portal was established in 2015. It replaced less accurate estimates of waste generation and recycling performance based on voluntary surveys.

The method of calculating recycling performance and waste generation has established best-practice benchmarks and generated more accurate waste data. Quality controls are outlined in the Data quality statement.

Where WARRP data was not available, the following secondary sources have been used:

• recycling data requested from scheduled waste facilities that were not reporting in the WARRP
• estimates of recycling by other scheduled waste facilities that were not reporting in the WARRP, using Environment Protection Licence information
• waste export summary reports produced by the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (or the Global Trade Atlas before 2022–23)
• consultant reports on plastics recycling, commissioned by the EPA.

Waste data collected since 2015–16 cannot be directly compared to earlier data.

This report uses five indicators to assess the environmental impacts of waste and progress towards reducing these impacts and improving resource recovery rates (see Table P4.2):

• Total waste generation reports on the amount of waste generated in NSW. It is assessed as moderate and getting worse. This is because increasing amounts of waste have cumulative effects. These effects include pollution and pressure on available landfill and recycling facilities (see Total waste generated).
• Per person waste generation reports on the amount of waste generated in NSW. It is assessed as moderate and getting worse. Per capita generation has increased from 2.4 tonnes in 2015–16 to 2.7 tonnes in 2022–23 (see Total waste generated).
• Total solid waste disposal measures how much waste is sent to landfill and is assessed as moderate but stable (see Waste disposal and recycling).
• Total solid waste recycled measures how much waste is sent for recycling. This is assessed as moderate but stable. There was a 66% recycling rate in 2022–23. This was an increase on a baseline of 63% in 2015–16 and a five-year average of 65% (see Waste disposal and recycling).
• Litter items per 1,000m² looks at the extent of litter and trends in litter reduction. This is assessed as good and getting better. The downward trend in litter is close to, or meeting, State targets (see Litter).

Waste generation is affected by population and economic factors. These result in an upward trend over the long term despite any year-on-year peaks or troughs.

Figure P4.1 shows that total waste generated in NSW rose from 18.7 million tonnes in 2015–16 to 22.4 million tonnes in 2022–23.

The 2022–23 total exceeded the:

• pre-pandemic peak of 2018–19 by 72,000 tonnes
• 2021–22 total by 1.4 million tonnes (7%).

Waste generated per person in NSW followed a similar pattern. In 2015–16 the figure was 2.4 tonnes. This rose to 2.7 tonnes per capita in 2022–23. This represented a return to the pre-pandemic level and was 0.14 tonnes (6%) more than the 2.5 tonnes per capita in 2021–22.

The NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy () sets a target of reducing total waste generated per capita by 10% by 2030. The results shown above suggest that NSW is not on track to meet this target.

Fluctuations in the amount of waste generated per person are primarily due to changes in the amount of construction and demolition waste. This waste type is not directly linked to individuals or households.

Since 2015–16, there has been an increase in the total amount of waste generated in NSW. This has increased the amount of waste recycled and disposed of.

Waste generated in NSW may be recycled or disposed of within the State, sent interstate or exported to another country.

Waste exported from NSW

Between 2018–19 and 2022–23, waste (of all kinds) transported interstate fell from 9% of total recycling to 5%, as measured by weight. This has plateaued, remaining at 5% from 2020–21 to the end of 2022–23.

Waste that cannot be recycled in Australia due to lack of facilities may be exported to other countries for processing ().

The export of waste glass, plastic, tyres, paper, cardboard and hazardous waste is regulated by the Australian Government. This is to ensure it does not cause harm to the environment or human health in transit or in destination countries.

Businesses must be licensed and/or comply with export requirements.

Australia is a signatory to the Basel Convention, which controls the global import and export of hazardous waste.

Since 2020, the export of certain types of waste has been banned. The bans have been phasing in over several years (). As a result, generally only small amounts of waste are now exported. In 2022–23, NSW waste exported overseas accounted for 5% of total recycling.

Waste recycled and disposed of in NSW

Waste generation in NSW continues to grow, but recycling rates are plateauing.

The reasons for this are complex and vary depending on the type of waste. Socioeconomic factors and lack of infrastructure availability may also play a role.

The NSW Government’s review of the waste levy will examine:

• why recycling is plateauing in NSW
• how the waste levy can be better used to reinvigorate recycling rates.

As at the end of 2022–23, the recycling rate for NSW was 66%. This was an increase on a baseline of 63% in 2015–16. However, the rate has remained stable since 2016–17 (when it was 65%) with a five-year average of 65%.

From 2015–16 to 2022–23, in NSW the amount of:

• waste disposed of increased from 6.9 million tonnes to 7.7 million tonnes
• waste recycled increased from 11.8 million tonnes to 14.7 million tonnes (see Figure P4.2).

Construction and demolition waste

In the five years to the end of 2022–23, on average, construction and demolition waste (C&D) comprised:

• 57% of all waste generated
• 68% of all waste recycled.

In 2022–23, the overall recycling rate for this stream was 78%.

In 2022–23, 12.7 million tonnes of C&D waste were generated. Of this, 9.8 million tonnes were recycled.

Over 90% of C&D waste materials recycled were masonry. Materials such as metals, glass and plastics made up the remainder.

Comparison of waste streams

Figure P4.3 shows that the C&D waste stream accounted for the largest proportion of both waste generated and waste recycled.

C&D is the only waste stream where the per capita recycling rate has fluctuated since 2015–16. The fluctuations were related to building activity and natural disaster clean-up operations.

The per capita recycling rates for commercial and industrial (C&I) waste and municipal solid waste (MSW) remain stable.

The NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy sets a target for an average recovery rate of 80% across all waste streams by 2030. NSW is not currently on track to meet this target, with the rate changing very little between 2015–16 and 2022–23, when it was 66% (see Table P4.3)

Organic waste

Between 2017–18 and 2022–23, organic waste recovery has been consistent. Annually, 1.6–2.0 million tonnes of waste is processed, primarily into compost and mulch.

In 2022–23, a total of 1,598,000 tonnes were processed, up from 1,591,000 tonnes in 2021–22. Of this, 73% was from the MSW stream (mainly food, vegetation or garden waste). Of the remainder, 20% was from the C&I stream and 6% was from C&D.

From 2021–22 to 2022–23, access to food organics and garden organics (FOGO) services improved significantly. Figure P4.4 shows growth in access to these services from 2016–17 to 2022–23.

Local council waste and resource recovery reports show that, in 2022–23, of households with access to a kerbside residual waste (red bin) service, 48% also had access to a kerbside FOGO service ().

Overall, councils reported that 887,000 tonnes of organic waste were collected from domestic sources in 2022–23 (). This was comprised of approximately:

• 716,000 tonnes of organics collected at kerbside, including 426,000 tonnes of garden organics and 290,000 tonnes of FOGO
• 114,000 tonnes of drop-off collected organics
• 44,000 tonnes of other council organics from gutters, parks and gardens
• 13,000 tonnes of organics collected by clean-up services.

This was a decrease of 8% on the 968,000 tonnes reported as collected in 2021–22. Despite this, organics collection in 2022–23 remained above the five-year average of 867,000 tonnes.

The weight of organic waste is highly variable. It fluctuates based on the composition and external factors, including weather.

Litter remains a concern for the NSW community.

The NSW Government has adopted new targets for litter reduction based on 2018–19 levels (). This followed achievement of the previous 40% target in 2020.

The new targets have a greater focus on items that are likely to leak into the environment and waterways. They are:

• a 30% reduction in plastic litter by 2025
• a 60% reduction in all litter by 2030.

These targets are measured by the Key Littered Items Study, which monitors litter in estuaries along the NSW coast. This is supported by a terrestrial litter measure, the Australian Litter Measure.

Figure P4.5 shows that in 2022–23 the density of littered items in NSW declined by 51% from 2021–22: from 198 items per 1,000m² to 96 items per 1,000m². Plastic litter declined more steeply, with a 55% reduction since 2021–22.

The sharp decline across all litter follows a steep rise in 2021–22 and now represents a return to an ongoing downward trend.

Litter data is inherently variable. Longer term results provide a more reliable insight into the change in litter over time.

Litter composition

The two measures used to monitor litter indicate a notably different litter composition:

• the composition of litter using the terrestrial count is dominated by cigarette butts, at around 50% of the total litter stream
• the composition of litter using the marine litter measure is more varied, as shown in Figure P4.6.

In 2022–23, at 35%, takeaway and beverage items were the biggest contributors to litter density in NSW. This was followed by confectionary wrappers and snack bags, at 18%.

Items made of plastic easily accounted for the largest share of litter, at 79%.

The most-littered individual items were confectionery wrappers and snack bags (18%), followed by straws (10%).

The NSW Container Deposit Scheme, Return and Earn, was introduced in December 2017.

The scheme provides a 10-cent refund for eligible drink containers. In 2022–23, these containers made up 38.6% of the total volume of litter generated in NSW and 4.6% of all littered items.

Since the introduction of the scheme in 2017, the volume of litter from containers that are eligible for the scheme has decreased by 71%.

In 2023–24, Return and Earn had 633 network operator collection points across NSW and 84% of adults in NSW had participated in the scheme.

Between 2017 and June 2024, 15.2 billion containers were collected, including 3.4 billion containers from kerbside recycling (Figure P4.7). This has resulted in more than 1.08 million tonnes of materials being recycled.

In 2023–24, 88% of glass and 100% of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) collected through the scheme was sent to recycling facilities in NSW. The remaining glass was sent for recycling in Queensland and South Australia.

Since the Container Deposit Scheme started, containers returned through the Return and Earn network have contributed to:

• water savings of 56,505 million litres, equivalent to 22,616 Olympic swimming pools
• energy savings of 12,542,348 gigajoules, equivalent to the average yearly energy consumption of 101,271 households
• 1,157 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions avoided, equivalent to taking 429,382 cars off the road for a year.

These estimates are based on the Return and Earn Impact Calculator developed by Lifecycles Australia.

See the performance dashboard for more information about the scheme’s performance.

In 2022–23, household waste was the most common type of illegally dumped material. It accounted for 61.6% of all incidents recorded in the EPA’s Report Illegal Dumping online (RIDonline) system (see Figure P4.8).

Illegal dumping rates of household items trended downwards in 2021–22 and 2022–23 (Figure P4.9).

Other key trends reported in RIDonline in 2022–23 include the following:

• Construction and demolition waste accounted for 7.2% of all illegal dumping incidents. While RIDonline does not capture all incidents, it appears that dumping of this type of waste has been trending downwards over the past few years.
• Green waste and mulch comprised 4.2% of reported incidents. There has been a decrease in dumping rates of this waste type over the past few years.
• Tyres accounted for 4.1% of reported incidents reported. The rate of dumping of this waste has been increasing over the past few years.

Some types of waste are potentially more harmful to the environment and human health than others. These are referred to as controlled waste.

This waste requires specialised handling, transport, treatment, storage and disposal to effectively reduce the risk it poses to the environment and human health.

Some of this waste must be tracked while being transported within NSW or interstate to ensure that it doesn’t pose a danger to the environment or the community. This is called ‘trackable waste’.

Controlled waste may include asbestos, mineral oil and industrial waste containing heavy metals or chemicals.

Some controlled wastes generated in NSW are exported interstate. These include zinc compounds sent to South Australia for recovery and oil sent to Queensland for recycling. A range of other waste types are moved to mainly Queensland and Victoria for disposal, recovery, recycling or reuse.

Controlled wastes are also imported into NSW for processing or disposal. These include oils, inorganic chemicals and acids.

Reasons for interstate export include the availability of waste treatment and disposal infrastructure and cost.

In 2022–23, an estimated 2,270,000 tonnes of controlled waste were generated and disposed of (). About 37% of this was asbestos waste and 29% was contaminated soil.

Table P4.4 shows the five waste types generated in the greatest volumes in NSW in 2022–23.

The amount of controlled waste being generated over the long term is increasing. Figure P4.10 indicates a peak in 2018–19. This trend reflects broader solid waste generation.

The drop between 2019–20 and 2021–22 is possibly due to weaker economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest data for 2022–23 represents an increase of 21% on the previous year. Generation is approaching pre-pandemic levels.

With the emergence of new technologies and industrial processes, novel types of hazardous waste are likely to be produced, possibly in significant volumes.

Soils and liquids contaminated with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a well-known example of an emergent form of hazardous waste in NSW. PFAS are manufactured chemicals used in a wide range of products. They do not break down and can persist for a long time in the environment.

Solar panels, vapes and e-wastes, containing lithium-ion batteries are also emerging as problem waste streams.

Problem waste includes common household items, such as paint, gas bottles, fluorescent globes and tubes and batteries, that cannot be easily recycled but may be harmful if disposed of to landfill or dumped.

Two free services, Community Recycling Centres and Household Chemical CleanOut events are available to the residents of NSW for the safe disposal of problem waste.

Collection of these materials is growing as the Community Recycling Centre network continues to expand and provide greater access for residents.

There are now 100 Community Recycling Centres across the state and as many Household Chemical CleanOut event collection days each year.

In 2023–24, the programs collected over 5,400 tonnes of household problem waste, including over:

• 3,000 tonnes of paint
• 780 tonnes of gas bottles
• 300 tonnes of oil
• 120 tonnes of loose batteries.

While attendance at Community Recycling Centres is not tracked at all sites, approximately 45,000 people attended Household Chemical CleanOut events across the year.

Since the Household Chemical CleanOut events started more than 21 years ago, over 500,000 people have safely disposed of 26,000 tonnes of household chemicals and other problem wastes at these events.

The first Community Recycling Centres, in Liverpool, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens, celebrated ten years of operations in 2024. Over 25,000 tonnes of waste has been collected through these centres since the first three opened in 2014.

Cumulatively, over 50,000 tonnes of household problem waste has been collected and safely disposed of through these programs.

Wherever possible this material is recycled, recovering valuable resources, such as metals for reuse in the circular economy. Where recycling is not possible, hazardous materials are treated so that it is safe to send them to landfill.

Globally, solid waste generation is strongly correlated with gross national income per capita and has grown strongly over the past half century ().

In NSW, total waste generated is growing at a faster pace than the population. See the topic for more information.

To reverse this trend, there would need to be a substantial decrease in the amount of waste we generate per person. As reported in the Status and trends section of this topic, per capita waste generation remains high and is approaching pre-pandemic levels.

Related to our increasing population are the challenges increased housing density may present for waste collection, sorting and disposal.

Worldwide, apartments have lower recycling rates than standalone houses. Apartment buildings have not traditionally been designed to accommodate the infrastructure (for example, many bin types) that facilitates recycling ().

Plastics are cheap, lightweight, durable and versatile. They are an important part of many items we use today and the packaging they come in. In some cases, the use of plastic is unavoidable.

But not all plastic items are essential, and the way they are produced, used and disposed of is increasingly unsustainable. Of the 891,000 tonnes of plastic waste generated in NSW in 2022–23, only 14% was recycled (). While plastic litter has declined in recent years, plastics – particularly single-use plastic items – still make up approximately 79% of littered items in NSW.

In the environment, plastic litter can be ingested by animals or entangle them, which can harm or kill wildlife. Evidence is also emerging indicating that microplastics may have detrimental impacts on the environment and human health. ‘Microplastics’ refers to small pieces of plastic that are widespread in our environment and are now being found in human bodies, due to the break-down of plastics over time.

Chemical additives in plastics can also pose risks to human health. They can contaminate new products made from recycled plastics. They can also contaminate other recovered materials, such as compost made from household organic waste, when plastic food packaging is improperly disposed of in kerbside organic waste bins.

Production and packaging

As part of the global economy, NSW imports a significant amount of plastics with the products we purchase. Local production and manufacturing of plastic products is limited.

Packaging is plastic’s largest market, accounting for 40% of all plastic produced. About one-third of this packaging is food packaging ().

Food packaging has grown for two reasons:

• longer supply chains in the food production and delivery system
• an emphasis on convenience for time-poor households ().

This has resulted in increased growth in the global plastics market. It is projected to increase from $507.16 billion in 2023 to $717.17 billion by 2030. This growth is mainly driven by demand for packaging ().

To reduce packaging waste and increase the circularity of packaging, Australia has a mandatory national co-regulatory framework for packaging in place. Established in 1999, it creates obligations for brand owners to design more sustainable packaging to increase recycling and reduce litter.

An independent 2021 review of this framework found that the obligations of brand owners under the current co-regulatory arrangement are not well understood by stakeholders and aren’t consistently applied. Differences in implementation between states and territories and limited monitoring and enforcement of the framework has also undermined confidence in the co-regulatory arrangement, enabling free riders and disincentivising participation.

The 2025 National Packaging Targets were established in 2018, and set targets for:

• 100% of packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable
• 70% of plastic packaging recycled or composted
• 50% average recycled content across all packaging
• phase out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging.

A 2023 review of these targets by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation found that progress under the current co-regulatory framework was not on track to meet the targets by 2025.

Recycling capacity

As well as designing packaging and other plastics for recyclability, it is also important that sufficient infrastructure to recover and recycle plastics is in place.

The NSW Government has committed to tripling the recycling rate of plastics by 2030. This will require processing infrastructure to support the increased quantity of plastics destined for recycling over the next few years.

In 2022–23, NSW only had capacity to reprocess 165,600 tonnes of plastic waste. This was an 81% shortfall from the 891,000 tonnes that was generated. Even with future planned capacity, there will still be a shortfall of 54% relative to the 2022–23 generation ().

In addition to this capacity gap, there are other limiting factors preventing NSW from recycling all its plastic waste. These include barriers in ensuring proper source separation, access to collection, contamination, transport costs, and limited demand or end markets.

Programs such as the NSW Container Deposit Scheme, Return and Earn, address some of these barriers. They have significant success in improving recycling rates and the quality of recovered materials.

NSW needs to ensure it has enough capacity to safely dispose of the materials we cannot re-use, repair or recycle.

NSW facilities for the storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste, general and liquid waste are approaching capacity.

If the State’s current rates of waste generation and recycling remain unchanged, landfills serving Greater Sydney will reach capacity by 2030 ().

Landfill capacity is also expected to run out by 2030 in some regional areas. The NSW Government's guide to future infrastructure needs () reports that:

• the combined regional landfill expiry for the Hunter, Illawarra Shoalhaven, Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions is past 2040
• some locally managed landfills in the Northern Rivers and Coffs Harbour may reach capacity within the next 15 years
• there are looming capacity constraints for hazardous waste treatment and landfill - the only NSW landfill that can accept contaminated wastes is set to reach capacity in 2031.

Disposal of waste is usually managed within the region in which it is generated. When there is not enough viable and affordable land for landfilling, waste is compacted and transported to other destinations.

The contamination of recovered materials with hazardous substances is a growing issue in NSW. A persistent problem is asbestos contamination in construction and demolition waste that is sent for recycling into new products.

It has been estimated that 6.2 million tonnes of asbestos remains present in the built environment in Australia ().

If asbestos waste is not properly identified and separately managed in construction and demolition activities, and ends up in recycled construction and demolition waste, the asbestos may then flow on to products derived from the recycled waste. Such asbestos contamination poses human health risks to the processors of the waste, the producers and end users of the products derived from such waste, and the wider community.

In early 2024, asbestos was discovered in commercial mulch used in multiple public locations in NSW and caused significant public concern around the safety of the relevant public locations (). Significant costs were incurred by multiple NSW agencies to investigate, manage and clean up the asbestos contamination. The EPA is working with industry and taking a systems approach to develop options aimed at preventing the issue occurring in the future.

NSW needs to be responsive and adaptive to emerging waste streams. Emerging waste streams could pose a significant or emerging threat or opportunity that requires near-term action.

The management of end-of-life batteries has become an area of increasing concern, in particular lithium-ion batteries. They are great at powering our smart phones, e-bikes and other devices, but if improperly disposed of they can cause fires and pollute the environment.

The waste and resource recovery industry is witnessing frequent battery-related fires in its vehicles and facilities. These fires are placing the environment, human health and property at risk.

The improper use and charging of batteries also put lives at risk, for example, two NSW residents died in February 2024 from an e-bike battery fire () – the first recorded deaths in NSW resulting from a lithium-ion battery fire.

Battery-related fires are increasing. Fire and Rescue NSW have reported a 66% increase in the number of lithium-ion battery fires attended between 2022 and 2023 – this increase has continued into 2024 (; ).

Between 2022 and 2023, incidents involving lithium-ion batteries were also found to be four times more likely to result in injury than all fire and explosion incidents attended.

There are also challenges in managing the growing volume of vapes and e-cigarettes. These products can cause fires when disposed of in bins and then compacted or punctured through the waste supply chain.

The Australian Government has made regulatory changes to the supply of these products, but the safe disposal of vapes is expected to be an ongoing challenge.

Similarly, end-of-life solar panels and battery systems are forecast to generate 40,000–71,000 tonnes of waste annually by 2035 ().

Stockpiling of waste

The Australian Government has phased in restrictions on exports of unprocessed plastic, glass and tyres. Restrictions on paper and cardboard exports came into effect in July 2024 ().

The intent of these waste export bans has been to promote local processing and recycling approaches and an uplift in processing capacity and capability.

Investment in processing capacity for these recycled material streams is primarily driven by commercial considerations and the strength of demand from end markets for recycled materials.

NSW, and Australia more broadly, has a relatively low manufacturing base and high labour costs compared to other markets in the region. This impacts demand for recycled materials and the cost competitiveness of recycling relative to using virgin materials.

These controls, coupled with a shortfall in processing capacity, have led to increased stockpiling of some wastes (notably soft plastics).

Stockpiling waste can be dangerous and has been associated with catastrophic fires ().

Human behaviour

Consumer behaviour influences the success of waste avoidance and recovery. Examples are using recycling bins correctly, choosing recycled products and storing food properly.

Illegal activities, such as littering, illegal dumping or providing contaminated material under the guise of ‘clean fill’ also play a role.

Behaviour is shaped by social norms, the availability of alternatives, and perceived costs and benefits.

Waste management in Australia is largely guided by the National Waste Policy Action Plan (). This plan outlines targets and actions to complement and support the implementation of waste management plans by NSW and other jurisdictions as well as by business and industry.

NSW, represented by the EPA, participates in multiple national-level, cross-jurisdictional working groups to:

• harmonise the phase-out of problematic and unnecessary plastics, such as single-use plastics, to make it easier for businesses that operate across multiple states and territories to comply with plastic regulations
• refine existing and develop new product stewardship schemes, including new mandatory obligations on battery suppliers to participate in product stewardship to reduce the risks of end-of-life battery fires, and reduce waste from small electrical products and solar panel systems
• promote consistent waste management standards across Australia, including the development of a robust and coordinated regulatory response to the long-distance transport of waste for disposal.

In June 2024, Environment Ministers agreed that NSW, with Victoria and Queensland, would take urgent action and consider product stewardship for batteries to manage them across their lifecycle and reduce escalating fires in waste trucks and facilities.

NSW worked with Victoria to engage with industry and prepare a draft Regulatory Impact Statement, presenting options for mandatory battery product stewardship (PDF 256KB) to Environment Ministers in December 2024.

Packaging reform

Recognising that the current co-regulatory arrangement is no longer fit-for-purpose and will not deliver a circular economy for packaging, in October 2022, Australia’s Environment Ministers agreed to reform packaging regulation by 2025.

The reforms aim to ensure all packaging available in Australia is designed to be recovered, reused, recycled and reprocessed safely in line with circular economy principles. These changes will reduce the impact of packaging on the environment.

Following on from this, in June 2023, Environment Ministers agreed to:

• introduce a new scheme leveraging mandatory packaging design obligations based on international best-practice
• make industry responsible for the packaging they place on the market under the new regulatory scheme
• regulate-out harmful chemicals and other contaminants in packaging.

In 2024, the Australian Government released a consultation paper seeking feedback on options to reform packaging regulation. Informed by feedback received on this paper, the Australian Government continues leading national packaging reform, with support from all jurisdictions.

However, progress on this reform work has been slow. Under policy measures, such as the NSW Plastics: The Way Forward action paper, NSW will take action to reduce packaging waste if greater protections are needed faster than this national reform process allows.

A number of measures are in place to work towards reducing waste from different streams in NSW, transitioning the State towards a lower emissions, circular economy.

The NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 sets a long-term vision for managing waste and refocusing the way NSW produces, consumes and recycles products and materials.

The NSW Circular Economy Policy Statement: Too Good to Waste presents the approach for transitioning the State to a circular economy. It provides principles to guide NSW Government decision-making on resource use and management.

NSW Net Zero Plan 2020–2030

In 2020, the NSW Government released the NSW Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020–2030 (). It sets out how NSW will:

• deliver a 50% cut in emissions by 2030 compared with 2005 levels
• be on the path to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

By adopting a circular economy approach, we can increase our carbon efficiency by:

• designing out waste and using fewer materials in production
• making sure the materials that are used in production are less energy-intensive
• increasing the lifespan of buildings and products
• reusing or recycling materials to avoid emissions associated with raw material extraction and production.

The NSW Government will work with the property and infrastructure sectors to develop tools and guidance to promote circular design and practices. This will include establishing new circular design guidelines for buildings and infrastructure.

Opportunities will also be identified to embed circular design principles in new NSW Government buildings, infrastructure and precincts.

See the topic for more information.

NSW Plastics Action Plan

Plastic is a substantial waste and recycling issue in NSW and abroad.

One way NSW is approaching the issue is by trying to address each phase of the plastics life cycle with a three-part approach to reducing the harm from plastic waste. This is detailed in the NSW Plastics Action Plan ().

This includes:

• removing as many unnecessary plastic items from the economy as possible
• improving product design to reduce the risks they pose
• improving the quality of plastic items so they can be recycled at the highest level.

Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act

The Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy Act 2021 supports the objectives of the NSW Plastics Action Plan. Under the act, the supply of a number of problematic and unnecessary plastic items has been phased out since 2022.

The phased-out items include lightweight plastic shopping bags and single-use plastic straws, cutlery, stirrers, plates, bowls without lids, cotton buds and expanded polystyrene food service items. Plastic microbeads in some rinse-off personal care products have also been banned.

These bans are expected to prevent an estimated 2.7 billion plastic items from entering our bushland, coastal and marine environments over 20 years to 2042.

NSW Plastics: Next Steps and The Way Forward

To reduce plastic pollution by better managing plastic throughout its life cycle, the NSW Government is investigating ways to improve plastic recycling and minimise plastic waste.

The NSW Plastics: Next Steps issues paper was released for public consultation in 2023. It received over 5,000 survey responses and written submissions. The paper put forward ideas on further actions that could be taken in NSW to address issues related to plastic items and materials that are highly littered, contain harmful chemicals and release microplastics into the environment.

Findings from this consultation informed the development of more detailed proposed actions to tackle plastic waste, set out in NSW Plastics: The Way Forward. These aim to:

• avoid plastic waste generation by phasing-out certain problematic and unnecessary plastic items and by supporting reusable alternatives to single-use plastics
• improve plastic recycling through design standards, such as requiring single-use plastic cups, food containers and condiment packets to be recyclable
• ensure plastic waste is properly disposed and does not contaminate other recycling streams or is not littered in the environment.

NSW Plastics: The Way Forward was released for public consultation from September to November 2024. Feedback on the paper will be reviewed and will inform the further development of actions to address problematic and unnecessary plastics in 2025.

Review of the NSW Waste Levy

The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 requires certain licensed waste facilities in NSW to pay a contribution for each tonne of waste received at the facility.

Referred to as the waste levy, the contribution aims to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill and promote recycling and resource recovery.

The NSW Government is reviewing the conditions of the NSW waste levy to look at how to improve its operation and drive further resource recovery in NSW.

NSW Waste Infrastructure Plan

The EPA is working closely with local councils and industry to develop a Waste Infrastructure Plan for NSW. The plan will be informed by robust, data-driven analysis to determine infrastructure needs across the state and will take a staged approach, starting with the most urgent capacity needs in residual waste and FOGO infrastructure, before taking a holistic approach to recycling infrastructure (including for plastics recycling).

The EPA is also working to create public data dashboards so that stakeholders can make informed decisions for planning and investment. This includes data from the commercial and industrial waste audit, an assessment of residual waste needs and material flow analysis by regions.

The plan will be action-oriented and focus on:

• establishing consensus and trust in data regarding waste generation, material flows, infrastructure capacity and future needs
• improving current strategic planning and delivery mechanisms for waste infrastructure
• improving and clarifying the policy and regulatory framework to give greater certainty to stakeholders.

Targeting materials for recovery

As waste volumes continue to grow, infrastructure and services are needed to make sure we have the capacity to collect and recycle waste materials. Some types of waste materials can be more challenging to collect and recycle. Priority areas for recovery include organics, plastics and residual waste destined to landfill ().

The EPA is working with stakeholders to address these problems through the development of the NSW Waste Infrastructure Plan. Key inputs to the plan include a series of data analysis projects to form a clearer view of infrastructure needs across the State.

The 2023 Commercial and Industrial Waste Audit gives insight into what materials are being sent to landfill by businesses in different regions across NSW. The EPA conducted the audit to identify:

• the waste material types sent to landfill by different industry sectors
• recyclable materials that are being landfilled
• differences in waste composition in different areas across NSW
• industry sectors requiring targeted interventions to improve material recovery.

Four materials account for just over 70% of waste sent to landfill by businesses in NSW:

• organics 25.4%
• waste processing residues 16.2%
• plastics 15.3%
• paper and cardboard 13.4%.

The EPA is also modelling key waste material flows by region. This will provide strategic insight into the:

• tonnages of material types by waste stream
• destination of materials in different areas across NSW
• opportunities for policies, programs or infrastructure to improve material recovery.

Investment in waste and recycling infrastructure

The NSW Government is encouraging investment in waste and circular economy infrastructure. The NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 outlines actions to deliver on long-term objectives to transition to a circular economy, backed by $356 million in funding.

Over the past decade, the NSW Government has awarded more than half a billion dollars in grants to deliver more than 3,000 projects.

Between 2021 and 2023, the Remanufacture NSW funding program was co-funded by the NSW Government and the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund. This fund was established in response to the impacts of waste export bans.

The program awarded over $37 million in funding to 36 projects through which industry could respond to the regulation of the export of glass, plastic, tyres, paper and cardboard under the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020. These projects will deliver almost 160,000 tonnes of new processing capacity per year.

Organics recycling

NSW households’ red-lid kerbside bins contain around one third food waste. This material can either go into landfill, releasing methane gas as it decomposes, or it can be collected separately and recycled into compost.

The NSW Government committed to halving this organic waste being disposed of in landfill by 2030 under the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041. This commitment is part of the broader Australian Government’s net zero commitment.

The NSW Government passed the Protection of the Environment Amendment Legislation (FOGO Recycling) Bill 2024 on 20 February 2025. The bill provides for:

• the source-separated collection of food organics and garden organics (FOGO) waste from households from 1 July 2030
• the source-separated collection of food organics waste from various businesses and institutions from 1 July 2026, 2028 or 2030 based on the premises’ weekly residual waste bin capacity.

These measures will significantly increase the volume of organics waste entering the recycling system.

An analysis of the proposed household mandates found that application of the mandates to all households in NSW may result in the diversion of almost 950,000 tonnes of FOGO waste each year from landfill and into circular economy products like compost.

As part of the work to develop a NSW Waste Infrastructure Plan, the EPA is assessing the infrastructure needs for landfills and transfer stations in NSW. New data will inform program and policy responses.

Funding will also be provided under the Waste Delivery Plan to improve landfill and waste management in NSW. This includes the $6 million Landfill Consolidation and Environmental Improvement program and part of the $24 million Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund.

The NSW Government has commissioned and is awaiting the advice from the Office of Chief Scientist and Engineer on the management of asbestos in recovered fines and other recovered materials from construction and demolition waste.

Separately, the NSW EPA has engaged with the construction and demolition recycling industry on a suite of regulatory proposals to minimise and better manage asbestos contamination in recovered construction and demolition waste. The NSW EPA will continue this engagement in 2025 to refine and implement the most viable proposals.

Embedded batteries

Household products containing embedded (non-removable) batteries are becoming more prevalent. They are responsible for a growing number of fires across the waste sector.

A trial to collect vapes and other products containing embedded batteries is now underway. This includes partnering with 21 councils to collect a wide range of household products containing embedded batteries at community recycling centres across NSW. These products include e-scooters, vacuum cleaners, powerpacks and vapes. Vapes are also accepted at Household Chemical CleanOut events.

The trial, which runs for two years from September 2024, will ensure safe disposal options are available for household products containing embedded batteries.

Solar panels

Between 2021 and 2022, the Circular Solar Grants program targeted solar panels and their batteries to help improve their management at end of life. Over $9.5 million in funding has been awarded to projects that will provide recycling capacity for up to:

• 10,000 tonnes per year of solar panels
• 2,000 tonnes per year of lithium-ion batteries.

Disaster waste is the collective name for waste materials generated when disaster or emergency events damage property, infrastructure and assets or the environment. It also includes materials or goods disposed of during the response or recovery phase of the disaster or emergency.

From 2019–20 to the end of 2023–24, NSW residents endured 76 declared disasters. Two major events in that period produced significant amounts of disaster waste:

• about 340,000 tonnes from the 2019–20 bushfires
• over 370,000 tonnes from the 2022 floods that affected Lismore, the NSW Northern Rivers and the NSW Central West.

Human-induced climate change has increased the frequency, intensity or duration of different types of extreme weather that heighten the risk of these disasters. This has brought a focus on the amount of waste these events generate.

Additionally, landfills and other infrastructure designed to manage waste are likely to be increasingly exposed to storms, flooding and fires.

In response to these concerns, the NSW Disaster Waste Sub Plan () was developed in 2023 to consider waste management and recovery as part of the NSW Emergency Management Plan.

See the topic for more information on the impacts of climate extremes.

Integrated Waste Tracking Solution

The EPA – in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Environment, Science and Innovation – has developed the Integrated Waste Tracking Solution for tracking and reporting on hazardous and regulated waste.

The waste tracking solution is a digital tool that enables waste consignors, transporters and receivers to track and report on all types of hazardous and regulated waste in one system.

Implemented in February 2024, it is a key step towards delivering a nationally consistent hazardous waste tracking and data system. This is a commitment under the National Waste Policy Action Plan () and the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041.

National consistency will improve the quality of data and provide better oversight of hazardous waste movement in NSW and other jurisdictions.

Litter prevention

Under the NSW Litter Prevention Strategy 2022–30, litter prevention is delivered through a comprehensive program focused on zero tolerance to littering. This approach is supported by statewide media campaigns, such as Don’t be a Tosser!, through to locally-based initiatives funded by litter prevention grants.

Land managers, such as local councils, are supported to integrate bin infrastructure, behaviour change programs and engagement of local communities. This has already helped drive a 49% reduction in litter across the State ().

More recently, single-use plastic bans under the NSW Plastics Action Plan have seen a reduction across the State of heavily littered items, such as plastic shopping bags and plastic takeaway packaging.

Organics education

Since 2020, the Scrap Together Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) education program has been supporting Councils to roll out FOGO services. The program provides best practice education resources to encourage behaviour change, including videos, radio ads, social media tiles and brochures.

Three program phases have been developed to date:

• Every Scrap Counts (launched 2021): encouraging people to put their food scraps into the bins
• Starting Scraps (launched 2024): for councils introducing the new service
• How to FOGO (launched 2024): reminding residents to keep contaminants like plastic and cardboard out of the FOGO bin.

Addressing waste in Aboriginal communities

The ongoing Aboriginal Communities Waste Management Program aims to reduce litter and waste and increase the amenity of Aboriginal communities across NSW. New funding will be available for programs in eligible communities from 2025 to 2028.

To be effective, responses to issues must be based on good data.

Repeated surveys on waste (such as the Key Littered Items Study) are noted at many points in this topic.

Audits of specific sectors are undertaken from time to time. An example is the audit of the commercial and industrial waste stream. This is noted above, under Targeting materials for recovery.

In addition, reports have been commissioned to address key data gaps, including the annual plastics flows and fates study.

Some of the more recent work to fill data gaps are presented below.

Textiles

Each year, NSW citizens discard more than 300,000 tonnes of textiles (). Globally, from production to disposal, the textiles industry accounts for 8% of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

Despite this large impact, data on textiles has been poorly captured. To remedy this for NSW, the NSW Government commissioned a report on textile waste: Thread Count: NSW Textile Data Report. It was completed in 2021.

The report provides the most detailed information to date on annual textile imports into NSW, and textile retention and disposal along many pathways. It provides a basis for future circular economy initiatives.

Review of the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2014

The Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2014 is the key piece of legislation that sets out the regulatory framework for the management, storage, transportation and reuse of waste in NSW.

The current regulation is due for a staged repeal on 1 September 2025, in accordance with the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989. This provides an opportunity for the regulatory framework to be reviewed in light of the:

• directions set out in the NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041
• transition to a circular economy (including actions committed to in the Towards a Circular Economy Delivery Plan)
• objectives of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

Hazardous waste

NSW is working with other Australian states and territories to investigate product stewardship approaches to improve the management of hazardous and problematic wastes, such as flammable waste solvents, waste tyres and batteries.

Batteries play a critical role in the transition to net zero. They are increasingly used in consumer electronics, vehicles and the built environment. There has been a rapid expansion in the market for batteries, particularly lithium-ion batteries.

This expansion brings increased risks to human health, the environment, and waste and resource recovery infrastructure associated with battery-related fires.

To address these risks, governments are looking at options across the battery lifecycle, including:

• battery design and manufacturing
• how they are used
• how they are handled when they reach the end of their life.