Clean Up Australia - 2020 Rubbish Report

Rubbish Report

2020

Welcome to our Rubbish Report 2020

With thanks to our Sponsors and Supporters:

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Table of Contents Introduction

4

Executive Summary

6

Top 10 Rubbish Items Summary

8

Methodology

12

Returned Valid Surveys By State

14

Returned Valid Surveys By Site Type

16

The Top 10 Rubbish Items

18

Major Types of Rubbish

20

Major Sources of Rubbish - Analysis of Each Category

24

Plastics

24

Miscellaneous Items

25

Glass

26

Paper and Cardboard

27

Metal and Aluminium

28

Expanded Polystyrene

29

Wood

30

Rubber

31

Site Rubbish Composition

32

The Great Northern Clean Up 2020

34

Rubbish Report 2020

3

Introduction In 2020, Clean Up launched Step Up to Clean Up, urging all Australians to take to their streets, beaches, parks, bushland and waterways to remove accumulated rubbish. In response Australians registered 7,715 Clean Up Australia Day, 108 Great Northern Clean Up [north of the Tropic of Capricorn] and 495 Everyday Clean Up sites.

An estimated 683,242 volunteers removed around 17,087 ute loads of rubbish during the year. Over the past three decades, 18.3 million volunteers have donated more than 36 million hours to their local communities, removing the equivalent of 380 thousand ute loads of rubbish from over 190,000 registered locations across the country.

This Rubbish Report is a snapshot of the rubbish they counted in 2020.

Data is reported in a number of ways: • B y material type e.g. plastics, metals or glass • In groups of like items regardless of material type [e.g. beverage containers which are glass, plastic or metal] and • As individual items.

As a percentage of types of rubbish reported, plastics increased by 5%, glass by 4% and paper by 1%.

Miscellaneous items decreased by 5%, metals by 4% and polystyrene by 1%.

Wood and rubber remained consistent as a percentage of counted rubbish.

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Within grouped items, packaging continues to dominate rubbish counts representing 49.8% of all reported rubbish during the year. This is on-par with 2019, during which packaging represented 50.3%.

Beverage container counts continue to decline – reflective of the impact of wellestablished container refund schemes.

In 2020 they reflected 15.5% of counted rubbish. In 2019 they accounted for 17.9%.

Soft plastics have been separated into their own category for the first time in 2020.

Counts include plastic food, retail and garbage bags, plastic confectionery wrappers, cling wrap and ‘other’ soft plastics. 2020 volunteers counted 33,562 of these items through their reporting, representing 13.7% of all surveyed rubbish and 40.4% of plastics.

When it comes to individual items, cigarette butts remain the # 1 item reported by volunteers.

In 2020 they represented 16.2% of all reported rubbish which is a welcome decrease of 5.8% over 2019. However, while small, the environmental impact of a cigarette butt cannot be underestimated.

Leaching toxins and leaving small pieces of plastic in their wake – every littered butt provides immediate, short and long-term danger for our precious flora and fauna.

Beverage container counts have stabilised.

We are still seeing evidence of ‘container hunting’ in states where the redemption scheme is new, but established states are reporting decreased counts as more containers are intercepted for redemption before they become litter.

Half of the single items reported in 2020 are either or contain plastic. Its persistence is the challenge – hard plastics will outlive us all.

It is also clear that small stuff is an issue.

Butts, wrappers, lids and pieces of glass dominate the Top 10 list, accounting for 30% of Top 10 reported rubbish.

Clean Up Australia Day, Everyday Clean Up sites and the Great Northern Clean Up would not be possible without the generous financial support of our sponsors.

Our 2020 Clean Up Australia Day leading partner was Cleanaway.

McDonald’s continued their support as founding partner, Shop A Docket and Shopper Media gave us wonderful media support and ProChoice, Look Print and Daniels Cleanaway were active suppliers of clean up materials and signage.

It is also important to recognise the vital support that Clean Up volunteers receive from local government. 215 local councils registered intent to support their communities for the 2020 campaign. This was an increase of 8 on 2019, demonstrating the commitment of local government to shared spaces within their jurisdiction.

This is the 30th Rubbish Report produced by Clean Up Australia.

Rubbish Report 2020

5

Executive Summary The Rubbish Report is a snapshot of rubbish removed by volunteers during a calendar year. Since 1991, the Rubbish Report has proven to be an invaluable resource in identifying trends in the types and spread of rubbish throughout Australia. It continues to demonstrate the importance of refusing, reducing, re-using and recycling rubbish.

Sites Surveyed

Rubbish Sources

• 1 ,973 End of Clean Up Reports were returned from 3,278 sites nationally.

Of these, 748 recorded valid data for analysis across 1,274 locations

• N ew South Wales volunteers surveyed the highest number of locations (442), followed by Queensland (331) and Victoria (239)

• A total of 365,933 rubbish items were reported

• R oadsides were the most popular sites surveyed by communities in 2020 followed by parks, waterways [rivers, creeks, beaches], bushland, school grounds, other [non identified] locations, shops, outdoor transport and finally dive sites.

• C ontent from a total of 1,986 bags, representing 34.2% of rubbish at survey sites, was counted

Plastic was the most common rubbish type, representing 36% [31% in 2019] of all rubbish items removed.

Plastic was the most common rubbish type, representing 36% [31% in 2019] of all rubbish items removed.

This is the 26th year that plastic has dominated the ‘Major Types of Rubbish’.

Soft plastics have been separated into their own category for the first time in 2020.

Counts include plastic food, retail and garbage bags, plastic confectionery wrappers, cling wrap and ‘other’ soft plastics. 2020 volunteers counted 33,562 of these items through their reporting, representing 13.7% of all surveyed rubbish and 40.4% of plastics.

Miscellaneous items took second position at 20% [25% in 2019]. The most common item reported continues to be cigarette butts, reflecting 79.6% [2019 = 88.4%] of reported items in this category.

Glass came in at #3 this year, reflecting 13% of the count. Glass pieces dominated counts, representing 30.5% of the count [30.8% in 2019]. These were closely followed by alcoholic beverage bottles, which accounted for 28.7% of counted glass.

Paper narrowly squeezed out metals for fourth spot in 2020 – recording 11.6% of all rubbish reported. This was a 1% increase on 2019. Within this category, small pieces of paper dominated, reflecting 20% of the count.

This was closely followed by napkins and tissues at 15.3% and food packaging at 12.6%.

Metals represented 11.59% of the total count this year. Soft drink and alcoholic beverage cans continue to dominate, representing 41% of metal rubbish reported [34% in 2019]. Foil confectionery wrappers were also prevalent in 2020, representing 19.4% of counted metals.

Metal bottle caps were next in line at 15.8%, a dramatic reduction on their 39.4% representation in 2019.

These sources were followed by polystyrene at 5% [6% in 2019], then rubber and wood at 1%, each of which was consistent with last year.

Roadsides were the most popular sites surveyed by communities in 2020 followed by parks, waterways.

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Rubbish Report 2020

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Top 10 Rubbish Items Summary The Top 10 Rubbish Items as a percentage of all rubbish were analysed two ways – as groups of data [sets of like items regardless of material (e.g. beverage containers = glass, plastic, metals)] and as individual items [single item as a percentage of all rubbish reported].

Grouped Data GROUPED DATA

Individual Data 2020 %

2019%

% Diff

2020 %

2019%

% Diff

1

Non-Food packaging

39.9

36.4

+3.5

1

Cigarette butts

16.2

22.0

-5.8

2

Beverage containers

15.5

17.9

-2.4

2

Plastic chip & confectionery wrappers

5.6

-

+5.6

3

Soft plastics

13.7

-

+13.7

3

Glass pieces

4.2

2.7

+1.5

4

Food packaging

9.9

13.9

-4.0

4

Other glass

4.0

-

+1.5

5

Beverage Rubbish

8.5

13.9

-5.4

5

Plastic bottle caps & lids

3.9

4.5

-0.6

6

Household items

4.5

5.8

-1.3

6

Alcoholic beverage bottles

3.9

3.7

-0.6

7

Sanitary items

2.5

-

+2.5

7

Other soft plastics

3.3

-

-0.6

8

Construction materials

2.1

1.1

+1.0

8

Plastic packaging

3.1

-

+3.1

9

Toys, sporting goods, ropes, straps

1.7

1.7

0

9

PET drink containers

2.9

2.9

-

Clothing

1.3

1.5

-0.2

10

Soft drink cans

2.7

-

+2.7

10

Grouped Top 10 data made up 99.5% [98.7% in 2019] of reported rubbish.

8

INDIVIDUAL ITEM COUNT

Clean Up AUSTRALIA

Individual Item Count Top 10 data = 49.9% [53.2% last year]

Rubbish Report 2020

9

Site Types Number of sites

Number of items found

% of total waste

Average number of items per site

River/Creek/ Waterways/Water storage

189

62,399

17%

328

Beach Coastal areas

117

37,845

10%

323

Bushland

122

32,562

9%

267

NATIONAL

Shops/Malls

6,276

2%

418

School Grounds

75

31,122

9%

415

Outdoor Transport

14

4,344

1%

310

2

1,175

0%

588

Other

63

25,284

7%

399

Parks

317

80,963

22%

255

Roadsides

360

83,952

23%

233

1,274

365,922

100%

Dive

TOTAL

10

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During the full year of 2020, we saw a twofold increase in rubbish counts at roadside clean ups [municipal roadways and footpaths], with volunteers tallying rubbish at 360 of these locations [154 in 2019].

Waterways [rivers/creeks/waterways/water storage/beach/coastal and dive sites, were cumulatively the next most favoured Clean Up Australia Day locations where surveys were undertaken, accounting for 27% of reported rubbish.

Plastics were the rubbish type most commonly, reported from waterways, representing 31.7% of their total rubbish.

Rubbish counting at park clean ups also significantly increased to 317 locations [209 in 2019].

While parks are always a popular clean up location, volunteers reported that these and their local streets were more easily accessible during COVID-19 lockdowns, when activity was restricted to short periods of socially distanced outdoor exercise.

Plastic items were the dominant rubbish type reported at these locations – representing 40.6% of rubbish reported in parks and 30.3% of that counted along roadsides.

Interesting items found in 2020 included a dragon ring, heritage convict stamped brick, yabbie and crab pots, full set of golf clubs including balls, mouri skim board, a safe, a well preserved lizard, camping equipment, soft toys, furniture, stolen motor bike, witches hats, a rocking horse, camping equipment, shopping trolleys, car parts, a roll of artificial grass, inflatable raft, numerous reports of drug related equipment, hundreds of used teabags, car batteries, part of a bee hive, 114 aerosol spray cans in just one location, inflatable toys, mattresses and tractor tyres.

Many items were in good condition or could have been recycled through local take-back schemes.

Rubbish Report 2020

11

Methodology The figures presented in the Rubbish Report are based on a sample of Clean Up sites, where data is collected by our dedicated volunteers.

Rubbish Report surveys are issued in the Clean Up kits as part of the End of Clean Up Report. In 2020, the report was again also available to complete online, attracting 183 respondents.

The survey requires those taking part to identify and count a proportion of the rubbish removed from their site.

Volunteers are asked to survey one in five bags of rubbish removed, with a maximum of six bags surveyed per site. However, a number of site coordinators surveyed a greater proportion.

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In 2020, volunteers were again asked to separate their rubbish into recyclable and non-recyclable items, with the provision of yellow and white bags. The intention is to, where possible, encourage recycling of rubbish. Volunteers were asked to capture a representative sample from both types of bags. While we appreciate that the level of contamination of materials removed during Clean Ups will generally make them nonrecyclable, we believe it is important that volunteers pause to consider how many bags of rubbish could have been recycled if items had not entered the environment.

Each site surveyed is classified by the category that best describes its location.

The categories are: Beaches/Coastal, Outdoor Transport areas, Parks, Public Bushland, Rivers & Creeks, [suburban] Roadsides [including footpaths], School Grounds, Shops & Malls and Other.

The Rubbish Report survey lists a total of 94 specific waste items grouped by source material, with an ‘other’ field for those items which do not fit easily within the list.

‘Other’ items are carefully analysed to track the number of each specific item recorded.

Source categories are: plastic (further divided

into soft plastics, plastic bottles/containers, and plastic miscellaneous), polystyrene, glass, rubber, paper/cardboard, metal/aluminium (further divided into cans, and miscellaneous), wood, and miscellaneous.

The Rubbish Report is a snapshot of information to show trends over time of rubbish removed during Clean Up Australia Day, the Great Northern Clean Up and Everyday Clean Up sites. It is not intended to be a definitive survey representing all rubbish found in all Australian environments.

Rubbish Report 2020

13

Returned Valid Surveys

By State

he t d r e turn st numbe e r QLD d highe n s e co d r e p o r t s li of va

The ‘Returned Valid Surveys by State’ chart shows the number of valid Rubbish Report surveys received from each state.

NSW returned the highest number of valid reports

In 2020, New South Wales returned the highest number of valid reports [256 reports representing 442 surveyed locations], Queensland returned the second highest number [185 representing 331 surveyed locations] followed by Victoria [149 representing 239 sites].

VIC r third eturned of va highest the n lid r epor umber ts SITES SURVEYED

WA

RETURNED SURVEYS VIC

TAS

SA

QLD

NT

NSW

ACT 0

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100

200

300

400

500

Rubbish Report 2020

15

Returned Valid Surveys

By Site Type

ACT

The ‘Returned Valid Surveys by Site Type’ chart shows the number of valid Rubbish Report Surveys received from each site type.

NSW

Roadsides, which include footpaths, were the most favoured site at which rubbish was counted in 2020, reflecting 28.3% of all surveyed locations. Parks were the next most popular location to undertake a survey, making up 24.9% of valid reports. This ranking was slightly higher than 2019, when parks represented 20.8% of all sites.

Rivers and creeks represented 14.8%, [4.1% lower than 2019, bushland came

next with 9.6% [12.7% in 2019] beach and coastal areas reported 9.2% [up 6.1% on 2019], school grounds at 5.9% [down 2.4% on last year], other [non-identified locations] were 4.9% [6.4% in 2019], shops and malls represented 1.2% [up 1.1% last year], outdoor transport reflected 1.1% [up 0.5% over 2019] and the two dive sites from which we received data recorded .2% of returned surveys, down 0.7% on 2019.

NT

QLD

SA RIVERS BEACHES BUSH

TAS

SHOPS SCHOOLS

s

OUTDOOR TRANSPORT DIVE

VIC

OTHER PARKS ROADSIDES

WA

0

16

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30

60

90

120

150

Rubbish Report 2020

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The Top 10 Rubbish Items Grouped Items

Individual items

The Top 10 chart shows rubbish items by grouped data, displayed here as a percentage of each. Grouped data made up 99.5% of all rubbish reported [98.7% in 2019].

While decreasing their % representations, cigarette butts remains the # 1 item reported by volunteers.

Packaging continues to dominate rubbish counts representing 49.8% of all reported rubbish during the year. This is on-par with 2019, during which packaging represented 50.3%

In 2020 they represented 16.2% of all reported rubbish which is a welcome decrease of 5.8% over 2019.

Beverage container counts continue to decline – reflective of the impact of well-established container refund schemes. In 2020 they reflected 15.5% of counted rubbish. In 2019 they accounted for 17.9%.

While small, the environmental impact of a cigarette butt cannot be underestimated.

Leaching toxins and leaving small pieces of plastic in their wake – every littered butt provides immediate, short and long-term danger for our precious flora and fauna.

Soft plastics have been separated into their own category for the first time in 2020. Counts include plastic food, retail and garbage bags, plastic confectionery wrappers, cling wrap and ‘other’ soft plastics.

2020 volunteers counted 33,562 of these items through their reporting, representing 13.7% of all surveyed rubbish and 40.4% of plastics.

Non-Food packaging

Cigarette butts

Beverage Containers

Plastic chip and confectionery wrappers

Soft plastics

Glass pieces

Food packaging

Other glass

Beverage Rubbish

Plastic bottle caps and lids

Household items

Alcoholic beverage bottles

Sanitary Items

Other soft plastics

Construction Materials

Plastic packaging

Toys, sporting goods, ropes, straps

PET Drink containers

Clothing

Soft drink cans 0

18

Beverage container counts have stabilised.

We are still seeing evidence of ‘container hunting’ in states where the redemption

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5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0

5

scheme is new, but established states are reporting decreased counts as more containers are intercepted for redemption before they become litter.

Half of the single items reported in 2020 are either or contain plastic. Its persistence is the challenge – hard plastics will outlive us all, and they and their soft plastic cousins tear with the danger of entering the food-chain.

It is also clear that small stuff is an issue. Butts, wrappers, lids and pieces of glass dominate the Top 10 list, accounting for 30% of Top 10 reported rubbish.

10

15

20

Rubbish Report 2020

19

Major Types of Rubbish

14%

20%

Soft Plastics

Miscellaneous items

The ‘Major Types of Rubbish’ pie graph pictured on the right shows the types of rubbish surveyed, along with their proportion of the total rubbish.

1%

Plastics Plastics at 36% of all reported rubbish continue to dominate counts as the most common item reported across all locations. This has been the case for our 30 years of reporting.

Plastics make up 40.6% of rubbish counted within parks, 31.7% of reported items in waterways [rivers + beach/coastal areas + dive sites] and 30.3% of rubbish along roadsides.

Miscellaneous Cigarette butts remains the # 1 item reported by volunteers within the miscellaneous category. In 2020 they represented 16.2% of all reported rubbish which is a welcome decrease of 5.8% over 2019.

Miscellaneous items are mostly reported along roadsides [27.5%], followed by rivers [16%] and parks [15%]

Glass Most commonly found along roadsides, in waterways and parks, glass increased its % representation this year to 13% [9% in 2019].

Beverage bottles counts were once again the dominant group within glass, making up 38.4 % of the total [62.6% in 2019]. The good news is this is 40% of 2019 counts – reflective of the impact of well-established container

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redemption schemes. As a single item, broken glass represented 30.5% of all glass reported [30.8% last year].

Paper Paper represented 11.6% of all waste removed, a 1% increase on last year.

Within this category, small pieces of paper dominated, reflecting 20% of the count.

This was closely followed by napkins & tissues at 15.3% and food packaging at 12.6%. Paper was most widely reported in parks where it represented 24.9% of all counted rubbish.

Wood

22%

Plastic

12%

Metals

5%

12%

Polystyrene

Paper

1%

Rubber

13% Glass

Metal And Alumunium Metals reduced their representation by 5% in 2020 to now reflecting 11.6% of all rubbish items [16% in 2019]. Beverage containers represented 41% of all metal rubbish [34% last year]. Foil confectionery wrappers were also prevalent in 2020, representing 19.4% of counted metals.

Metal bottle caps were next in line at 15.8%, a dramatic reduction on their 39.4% representation in 2019. The most likely location to find these lurking is in parks where they represent 24.6% of all counted metals.

Expanded Polystyrene Expanded polystyrene represented 5% of rubbish counted in 2019, down 1% on 2019. Of the total polystyrene items, food packaging made up 29.6% [a dramatic decrease of 66.5% over 2019]. Fast food packaging took out the single item top spot at 17.9% [19.4% in 2019] followed by pieces of polystyrene at 17.7% [42.6% last year].

24% of reported polystyrene was found in our waterways, with parks a close second, recording 20.9% of all counted items.

Wood At 1%, wood remained consistent with 2019. Ice-cream sticks represented 36.9%

of the count [down 11.1% on last year].

Next in line were pieces of wood at 24.5% of items reported.

Wooden items counted in parks made up 35% of the total wood count.

Rubber Rubber also remained consistent at 1% of the rubbish counted. The most significant rubber item found was thongs/shoes which reflected 22.9% of the rubber count, [35.4% in 2019]. Tyres came a close second at 22.6% of reported rubber items.

Rubber was most widely reported in bushland where it accounted for 28.9% of recorded rubbish.

Rubbish Report 2020

21

Historical Comparison

22

Year

Plastics

Foam/ Polystyrene

Glass

Rubber

Paper

Metals

Wood

Misc.

Total Items

1991

35.0

8.6

14.4

1.5

13.6

14.3

2.8

9.6

100.0

1992

26.8

9.5

17.1

1.2

24.9

11.9

3.7

4.8

100.0

1993

40.8

7.7

13.3

1.0

18.9

13.9

1.7

2.8

100.0

1994

41.4

6.3

13.0

0.7

21.6

12.3

2.0

2.6

100.0

1995

31.2

4.0

10.3

0.7

24.9

18.1

3.0

7.8

100.0

1996

33.4

8.7

10.1

1.3

19.9

13.6

1.8

11.2

100.0

1997

27.0

7.5

14.7

1.0

18.3

17.9

2.3

11.2

100.0

1998

29.1

6.6

13.4

1.2

19.5

14.5

2.4

13.3

100.0

1999

36.0

6.8

12.3

1.4

15.0

13.6

1.9

13.0

100.0

2000

32.1

4.9

10.1

1.2

15.2

19.1

2.5

14.9

100.0

2001

33.7

4.8

12.1

1.2

13.8

15.2

2.0

17.2

100.0

2002

33.4

6.9

11.8

1.2

14.1

14.1

2.3

16.2

100.0

2003

36.0

3.5

11.8

1.3

17.7

15.2

1.7

12.7

100.0

2004

37.3

4.8

11.8

1.0

12.7

13.5

1.9

17.0

100.0

2005

32.0

5.0

14.0

1.0

15.0

12.0

2.0

19.0

100.0

2006

33.7

5.2

11.7

1.8

15.9

13.2

2.1

16.4

100.0

2007

33.1

4.4

15.5

2.3

15.1

13.4

1.8

14.4

100.0

2008

31.7

4.8

13.1

1.7

12.6

14.6

3.8

17.7

100.0

2009

28.5

3.5

16.4

1.4

12.7

17.5

2.2

17.8

100.0

2010

31.3

7.7

10.5

1.1

14.7

12.4

1.1

21.2

100.0

2011

32.0

3.9

14.0

1.2

11.3

14.2

1.5

22.0

100.0

2012

38.3

4.9

13.3

1.7

11.2

15.7

1.4

13.5

100.0

2013

36.0

5.4

13.7

1.2

12.8

15.4

1.5

14.0

100.0

2014

30.1

5.6

12.1

1.3

13.3

14

1.5

22.1

100.0

2015

35.7

5.4

12.5

1.3

13.4

15.5

1.7

14.5

100.0

2016

38.9

5.1

11.6

1.4

13

13.9

1.3

14.9

100.0

2017

35.5

5.3

11.6

0.9

10.9

13.2

0.9

21.7

100.0

2018

38.6

5.2

11.4

1.3

12.3

13.5

1.4

16.3

100.0

2019

31.3

5.7

8.7

1.5

10.7

16.2

1

24.9

100.0

2020

35.9

4.9

13.5

1.2

11.6

11.6

0.9

20.4

100.0

YOY +/- %

15%

-14%

55%

-20%

8%

-28%

-10%

-18%

5 Year Rolling Average

36.0

5.2

11.4

1.3

11.7

13.7

1.1

19.6

Vs Rolling Average

0%

-6%

19%

-5%

-1%

-15%

-18%

4%

10 Year Rolling Average

35.2

5.1

12.2

1.3

12.0

14.3

1.3

18.4

Clean Up AUSTRALIA

100.0

100.0

Rubbish Report 2020

23

Major Sources of Rubbish – Analysis of Each Category Plastics In 2020, plastic remained the dominant waste type reported by volunteers. Making up 36% of all rubbish removed, plastics accounted for 88,002 of surveyed items.

Made from non-renewable, oil-based resources, plastics removed by Clean Up volunteers are not biodegradable and could, if left in situ, survive in the environment for hundreds of years. At best, plastic breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces – which is a worse environmental outcome, with smaller pieces entering the food chain earlier.

A total of 30 different forms of plastic waste are categorised in the rubbish survey. They have been regrouped to be consistent with Top 10 Grouped Data for the purposes of our graph.

Soft plastics have been separated into their own category for the first time in 2020. Counts include plastic food, retail and garbage bags, plastic confectionery wrappers, cling wrap and ‘other’ soft plastics. 2020 volunteers counted 33,562 of these items through their reporting, representing 13.7% of all surveyed rubbish and 40.4% of plastics.

The good news is that counts of beverage containers continue to decrease as a percentage of reported rubbish in states and territories where container deposit/refund schemes are well established. Nationally we saw a 15.7% decrease in their representation in 2020.

Soft plastics

Miscellaneous Items Volunteers reported 49,794 miscellaneous items this year [71,363 in 2019].

between 18 months to 10 years to breakup. These filters are full of toxins, which can leach into the ground and waterways, damaging living organisms that come into contact with them.

While decreasing their % representations, cigarette butts remain the # 1 item reported by volunteers. In 2020 they represented 16.2% of all reported rubbish which is a welcome decrease of 5.8% over 2019. While small, the environmental impact of a cigarette butt cannot be underestimated. Leaching toxins and leaving small pieces of plastic in their wake – every littered butt provides immediate, short and long-term danger for our precious flora and fauna.

Clothing continues to grow as a proportion of rubbish reported, again taking out the second spot in 2020 [1,990 items] – 130 above their count in 2019, followed by household items at 1,557 items [1,449 in 2019]. Food scraps remained high at 1,098 in 2019 [1,333 last year], syringe counts more than doubled to 951 [415 in 2019]. Motor vehicle parts remained fairly consistent at 384 [395 last year].

The core of most cigarette filters is a form of plastic called cellulose acetate, which is very slow to degrade in our environment, taking

Household items

Food packaging

Motor vehicle parts

Non-food packaging Beverage containers

Non-food items

Beverage rubbish

Clothing

Sanitary items Food items

Toys, ropes and straps

Sanitary items

Construction 0

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5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

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Major Sources of Rubbish Glass

Paper and Cardboard

In 2020, glass accounted for 13% of surveyed items, 4% higher than 2019.

This year, beverage containers, with a count of 13,497, reflected 40.7% of glass counted.

In 2019, their count of 23,224 represented 93.3%. This dramatic reduction is most likely the result of glass being diverted from the litter stream in states where container refund schemes are now well established.

Broken glass accounted for 30.6% of rubbish reported [10,094 pieces], which was consistent as a percentage of the total glass count last year.

Volunteers counted 33,099 glass items in their 2020 Rubbish Surveys. This was an increase of 8,218 items over last year.

28,360 paper and cardboard items were counted in 2020.

45% of paper waste included in surveys was non-food packaging [bags, boxes, cigarette packets, napkins, tissues and non-specified items]. Household items were the next highest count at 27.6% of all paper.

In 2019 food related paper represented 34.9% of all counted paper. In 2020 this dropped to 23.6%.

Drink cartons [981] covered by a container deposit/refund scheme represented 3.5% of the paper count in 2020 – a welcome decrease of 1% over 2019.

Non-food items

Beverage containers

Food related items

Food containers

Beverage containers

Household items Non food containers

Beverage related rubbish 0

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15000

20000

0

3000

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Major Sources of Rubbish Expanded Polystyrene

Metal and Aluminium With a count of 28,333, metals, as a percentage of all rubbish removed by volunteers in 2020, increased 5% over 2019.

where the redemption schemes are yet to be introduced or established continue to report % above the national average.

Since 2015, expanded polystyrene has consistently accounted for 5% of reported rubbish.

with 4,350 either partially or completely fragmented pieces of polystyrene being found [totalling 36.7% of all reported polystyrene].

While beverage containers continue to be the dominant sources of metal waste, it is good to see their numbers decreasing in states where redemption schemes are well-established.

In 2020, soft drink and alcohol containers represented 39.2% of all metal waste surveyed, with a count of 11,105 [34% in 2019].

Expanded polystyrene is categorised separately from all other plastics due to the unique environmental hazards it poses.

Composed of around 95% air, polystyrene is highly mobile with the potential to travel long distances. Its soft structure means it’s likely to fragment into pieces and can harm wildlife upon ingestion. The high likelihood of breaking into smaller pieces can be seen

Non-Food packaging, comprising packaging, pieces and unidentifiable polystyrene items, reflected 70.4% or 8,347 reported items This was a dramatic increase on 2019 when 3,943 items, represented 24.3%, were reported.

However, we are not out of the woods just yet. Some states reported increases in their counts due to ‘hunting’, and other states

Construction waste rose significantly in 2020, with a count of 9,427 items [1,544 in 2019], now representing 33.3% of reported metals [3.3% last year].

Volunteers reported a total 11,849 items of polystyrene [16,250 in 2019].

10000 Household

Beverage containers

8000

Food containers

6000

Beverage related rubbish

4000

Construction materials

2000

Non-food containers

0 0

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Clean Up AUSTRALIA

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4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

Food items

Non food items

Rubbish Report 2020

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Major Sources of Rubbish Wood

Rubber

At 1% of reported items, wood remained consistent with 2019 counts.

Pieces of wood were also consistent with 2019, recording 543 items [548 last year].

Construction materials represented 56.2% of surveyed items this year [1,249 items], a 15% increase over 2019.

Cork counts, while decreasing this year, remain a problem at 148 [294 items in 2019 and 167 in 2018].

820 ice-cream sticks were counted by volunteers in 2020 [1,414 in 2019], making them consistently the most reported wooden item.

Surveys reported 2,217 wood items nationally, a 24% decrease over 2019 when the count was 2,910 items.

In 2020, rubber again accounted for 1% of rubbish reported – a consistent recording since 2014.

912 non-identifiable items were reported in 2020 – a significantly higher count than 2019 when they came in at 751 items.

Clothing – thongs/shoes and gloves were the most common items, with a count of 1,167 items representing 41.2% [2,481 items = 58.3% in 2019] of reported rubber.

This year, a total of 2,833 rubber items were recorded in 2020 surveys, a 34% reduction of the number of rubber items recorded in 2019 when 3,767 rubber items were counted.

640 tyres were reported by volunteers this year [837 in 2019].

Sanitary items

Construction materials

Clothing

Food items Motor vehicle parts

Beverage related rubbish

Construction materials

0

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Site Rubbish Composition The following table shows the proportions of different types of rubbish removed from each site as a percentage of all rubbish reported.

Rivers Parks Beaches Roadsides Bushland

Plastic

40.6

33.0

30.3

30.6

Dive

Other

41.4

17.0

38.6

28.4

20.0

Polystyrene

9.8

9.2

6.5

8.0

13.6

9.3

16.9

7.6

1.4

8.7

Glass

16.5

7.4

6.5

14.2

3.4

10.7

7.2

14.1

0.3

7.8

Rubber

1.3

1.3

1.4

1.1

4.8

0.7

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.8

Paper

9.1

12.6

17.7

9.4

10.1

12.3

11.5

15.4

3.3

8.5

Metals

11.2

12.7

12.2

10.4

11.6

11.9

9.8

8.9

4.7

12.1

Wood

0.6

1.6

0.8

0.9

1.4

0.5

0.7

0.5

0.0

0.8

Miscellaneous 20.2

14.6

21.8

25.8

24.6

13.2

24.8

33.0

72.7

22.8

TOTAL

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31.2

Outdoor Shop Schools Transport

100

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100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Plastics are the most common items reported across all locations and are most likely to be found in parks and in shopping centre precincts. Here the most common plastics are the single use items – straws, utensils, cups, plates … all of which are target items within plastic plans sought from all states across the nation.

It’s interesting to see a large increase in polystyrene reported in school grounds. In 2019 the % was 1.9% - in 2020 it rose to 16.9.

Glass was most prevalent in river clean ups, closely followed by roadsides and bus/tram/ ferry stops.

Paper is fairly consistent across all site-types with a slight spike at outdoor transport stops. This is consistent with the ‘drop before you board’ litter-types, who we urge to bag it instead!

Metals and wood are also fairly consistent across all site types.

And miscellaneous items – dominated by cigarette butts – are everywhere, but most significantly at bus/tram and ferry stops. The dive site counts are an anomaly – where we suspect either butt-dumping or volunteer count exaggeration.

It’s no surprise that rubber is most likely to be found in bushland where illegally dumped tyres continue to be a problem.

Plastics are the most common items reported across all locations...

Rubbish Report 2020

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The Great Northern Clean Up 2020

A special thank you to the local councils who worked with us in supporting all of their efforts.

The Great Northern Clean Up was launched in 2009, in response to local community and government feedback that the cooler months of August-October are the best time for a Clean Up north of the Tropic of Capricorn.

Over the last decade, an estimated 37,500 volunteers have removed the equivalent of 2,548 ute loads of rubbish from 1,147 registered locations.

Timing is critical - while it is still dry, but after the peak of the tourist season. The aim is to make sure we get we much rubbish out of our precious environment before the onset of the monsoon and cyclone seasons.

This year, the event took place during the months of August-October, when an estimated 3,139 volunteers removed around 237.6 ute loads of rubbish from 108 clean up sites across northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

Since 2009, volunteers have achieved: • N orthern Territory: 152 sites, approximately 5,357 volunteers, an estimated 333.8 ute loads of rubbish removed • Q ueensland: 933 sites, approximately 30,980 volunteers, an estimated 2,077 ute loads of rubbish removed • W estern Australia: 170 sites, approximately 4,309 volunteers, estimated 374.4 ute loads of rubbish removed.

2020 Rubbish Report Sponsors and Supporters A round of applause is due to our generous event funders and suppliers:

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Clean Up AUSTRALIA

Rubbish Report 2020

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Clean Up Australia Level 7, 140 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060 @cleanupaustralia @cleanupaustralia