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Waste Solid Waste Composition
How do the indicator sites compare with a wider sample?
The composition of the waste stream is influenced by the type of economic activity and waste disposal or recycling services in each region. The waste composition of the indicator sites can be compared with those of a larger sample of landfills to determine how well the indicator sites reflect wider waste disposal patterns.
Waste composition proportions for the national indicator sites and other selected sites, 2007–2008
Read a description of this figure
| Waste Type | Proportion of overall waste stream | |
|---|---|---|
| Indicator sites | Wider sample sites | |
| Paper | 7% | 14% |
| Nappies/ sanitary |
3% | 3% |
| Plastic | 8% | 12% |
| Organic | 28% | 30% |
| Glass | 4% | 3% |
| Rubble | 16% | 11% |
| Timber | 11% | 10% |
| Ferrous metal |
4% | 4% |
| Non-ferrous metal |
0.5% | 0.6% |
| Textiles | 4% | 5% |
| Rubber | 1% | 1% |
| Potentially hazardous |
14% | 6% |
As may be expected, there are differences between the four indicator sites and the wider sample. The indicator sites possibly under-estimate paper and plastic waste, while rubble and potentially hazardous waste are possibly over-estimated. Most waste types, however, are well represented by the indicator sites.
For both the indicator sites and the wider sample, organic waste is the largest proportion of the overall waste stream. However, while the indicator sites show rubble and potentially hazardous waste as the next largest proportions of the waste stream, the wider sample shows the next largest components as paper and plastic.
This information has come from the Solid waste composition environmental report card.
Return to composition of solid waste page
Last updated: 31 July 2009
