Rubbish Report
2020
Welcome to our Rubbish Report 2020
With thanks to our Sponsors and Supporters:
2
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
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.
4
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
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. 6
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
Rubbish Report 2020
7
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
15
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
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.
12
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
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
14
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
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
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
30
60
90
120
150
Rubbish Report 2020
17
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
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
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
20
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
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
24
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
Rubbish Report 2020
25
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
26
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
5000
10000
15000
20000
0
3000
6000
9000
1200
15000
Rubbish Report 2020
27
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
28
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Food items
Non food items
Rubbish Report 2020
29
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
30
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
300
600
900
1200
1500
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Rubbish Report 2020
31
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
32
31.2
Outdoor Shop Schools Transport
100
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
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
33
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:
34
Clean Up AUSTRALIA
Rubbish Report 2020
35
Clean Up Australia Level 7, 140 Arthur Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060 @cleanupaustralia @cleanupaustralia