Plastic Waste in Australia
9
The total amount of plastic consumed over the 21 years depicted in Figure 1 is 56.9 million
tonnes, equivalent to the weight of more than 1,000 Sydney Harbour Bridges.
46
The slight
year-on-year decrease in plastic consumption between 2015
–
16 and 2016
–
17 is worth
noting. The likely cause of this temporary reduction, according to the
2016 National Waste
Report
, is the phase-in of lightweighting technology.
47
This approach involves reducing the
amount of plastic used in a given package in order to reduce the per item plastic content.
This technique is used extensively in the manufacture of plastic bottles, which have been
thinned to reduce plastic content.
48
However, this technological advancement only resulted
in a temporary reduction in consumption, which continued to increase again from 2017
–
18.
Figure 2 shows that plastic consumption has also grown on a per capita basis
–
from an
estimated 92 kg per person in 2000 to 148 kg per person in 2020
–
21.
49
This is a 60%
increase.
50
46
Transport for NSW (2014)
Bridge Facts
47
DCCEEW (2016)
Australian national waste report 2016
, p 23,
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-waste-report-2022.pdf
48
Inside Packaging (n.d.)
A weight-loss program for plastic packaging
, https://inside-
packaging.nridigital.com/packaging_jul20/lightweighting_plastic
49
Author’s calculations from
Australian Plastics Flows and Fates Study
data. Total weight of plastic
consumption at a given year divided by total population at that year gives this figure.
50
Author’s calculations from
Australian Plastics Flows and Fates Study
data. Difference in per capita
consumption (kg) between 2000 and 2020
–
21 as a percentage of per capita consumption (kg) in 2000.