A disconnect between perception and reality in the recycling industry, is a barrier to more Australians recycling.
New research from Planet Ark found about one in three (31 percent) Aussies believed most items in their recycling bins ended up in landfill.
Planet Ark CEO Rebecca Gilling said, in reality, approximately 80 percent of all items placed in household recycling bins were recycled.
Ms Gilling said about 14 percent was not recycled due to contamination, that is because of items that shouldn’t be placed in recycling bins the first place, with the remaining six percent was not recycled due to breakage or process inefficiencies.
“It’s vital that Australians know their efforts to recycle do make a difference. The vast majority of correctly recycled items do not go to landfill, and the system in place is effective at recovering valuable resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting down on the need for raw material extraction,” she said.
Ms Gilling said those surveyed said knowledge that most of their recycling was being processed and recycled appropriately was the primary reason they would be more motivated to increase recycling at home.
“This suggests the misinformation surrounding recycling in landfill is a significant detractor from people’s recycling efforts and continues to undermine public confidence in the recycling system.”
She said Planet Ark would increase efforts to provide educational resources to clarify what could and could not be recycled at home, information on items that could be recycled through product stewardship schemes, and how to reduce waste through reuse and repair initiatives.
For more information visit the National Recycling Week website.
