| 9th
November, 2005
Australians are recycling more than ever before but
each individual is still generating 2.25 kilograms of waste
every day, according to Planet Ark.
In a report compiled for this week’s National Recycling
Week, Planet Ark say that Australians are now recycling almost
two billion newspapers a year and 2.3 billion aluminium cans
while Roy Morgan research commissioned for the report shows
that as many as 42 per cent of Australians compost or use
worm farms to recycle food scraps and green waste.
“We’ve come a long way with recycling and waste
reduction in the past decade,” says Planet Ark founder
Jon Dee.
“Back in 1995, toilet tissue made from recycled paper
was poor quality and didn’t work well. Today, 8,000
tonnes of office paper waste is turned into ‘SAFE’
toilet tissue every year and the softness and strength of
recycled toilet tissue has improved considerably.”
But on the downside, the report - 10 Years of Recycling:
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - reveals the average
Australian is still generating 2.25 kilograms of waste a day
and throwing out an incredible 3.3 million tonnes of food
annually. It’s been estimated that Australians spend
$5.3 billion a year on food they don’t eat.
Only 11 per cent of Australia’s office paper is recycled
with nearly nine out of every 10 sheets thrown away and as
many as 18 million printer cartridges are still being thrown
into landfill every year.
- DAVID ADAMS
|
