Ask most Australians how much plastic the country throws away each year, and you’ll get a vague guess. Ask how much of that comes specifically from businesses rather than households, and almost nobody has a number. That gap is exactly why plastic waste Australian businesses generate deserves more attention than it gets the data exists, but it’s scattered across government reports, state audits, and industry papers that rarely get pulled together in one place.
At Environmental Resources, we work with businesses, councils, and institutions across the country to reduce exactly this kind of waste, so we’ve dug into the latest available figures to build a clearer, citable picture of where Australian businesses actually stand.
The National Picture: Plastic Waste Australian Businesses Generate
According to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s National Waste and Resource Recovery Report, Australia generated 75.6 million tonnes of waste in the 2022–23 financial year, working out to roughly 2.88 tonnes per person. Of that total, the commercial and industrial (C&I) stream waste from businesses, offices, and industrial operations accounted for 32.9 million tonnes, or 44% of everything the country threw away that year. That makes commercial and industrial waste the single largest waste stream in Australia, ahead of both household waste (13.5 million tonnes) and construction and demolition waste (29.2 million tonnes).
Plastics sit inside all of these streams, but they show up in a particularly telling way in business waste specifically. A New South Wales EPA audit of commercial and industrial waste sent to landfill found that plastics made up 15.3% of everything businesses threw away one of the four largest material categories, alongside organics, waste processing residues, and paper and cardboard.
National Plastics Consumption and Recovery
On a national level, DCCEEW’s plastics flows and fates reporting shows Australia’s total plastics consumption reached 4.0 million tonnes in 2023–24, with an estimated 3.2 million tonnes reaching end-of-life in the same period. Of that 3.2 million tonnes, only around 446,000 tonnes were recovered a recovery rate of roughly 14%, and a recycling rate of just 13% once energy recovery is excluded.
Reprocessing capacity hasn’t kept pace either. At the end of 2024, Australia’s plastics reprocessing capacity sat at around 600,000 tonnes, against an end-of-life plastics volume more than five times that size. That gap between what businesses generate and what the system can actually process is a large part of why so much plastic waste still ends up in landfill rather than back in circulation.
Why This Matters for Australian Businesses Specifically?
A few figures from the NSW C&I waste audit are worth sitting with if you’re a business owner or facilities manager:
- 35% of the waste businesses send to landfill is recyclable right now, using existing systems.
- A further 53% is likely recyclable in the near future, if collection services, sorting, and processing infrastructure improve.
- 45% of commercial and industrial waste sent to landfill is bagged, meaning the choice of bin liner and bag itself plays a direct role in how that material is sorted, processed, or lost to landfill.
That last point is one businesses can act on immediately, without waiting for infrastructure upgrades or policy change. Switching general waste and organics streams to certified compostable bags is a small operational change with a measurable effect on what happens to that plastic waste Australian businesses currently generate.
Where Certification Fits into the Data
One of the recurring problems in Australia’s plastic waste story is contamination degradable or “eco” branded plastics that don’t actually break down the way certified compostable products do, ending up in green bins and compromising entire loads of organics.
Every item in our compostable range is certified to AS 4736 and AS 5810, the nationally recognised benchmarks for commercial and home compostability. For businesses trying to improve their own waste and recycling numbers, sourcing certified products rather than vaguely labelled “green” alternatives is one of the most reliable ways to make sure sustainability claims hold up against real diversion data, not just marketing copy.
For businesses looking to reduce their contribution to this national figure, our range of commercial compostable products covers bin liners, bags, and food service items built for everyday business use.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much plastic waste do Australian businesses generate each year?
Commercial and industrial waste made up 32.9 million tonnes in 2022–23, with plastics accounting for roughly 15.3% of business waste sent to landfill according to the NSW EPA’s C&I waste audit.
- What percentage of Australia’s plastic waste is actually recycled?
Nationally, the recycling rate for plastics sits at around 13%, once energy recovery is excluded, based on DCCEEW’s 2023–24 plastics flows and fates data.
- Why is so much recyclable material still going to landfill?
The NSW audit found 35% of business landfill waste is recyclable using current systems, and a further 53% could be recyclable with better sorting and processing infrastructure the gap is largely about systems, not material limits.
- Does switching to certified compostable bags actually make a measurable difference?
Yes. With 45% of commercial and industrial landfill waste being bagged, the type of bag used directly affects how that waste is sorted and processed, particularly for organics streams.
- What certification should businesses look for when buying compostable products?
Look for AS 4736 (commercial compostability) and AS 5810 (home compostability), the two Australian standards that confirm a product will genuinely break down rather than just carrying an unverified “eco-friendly” label.
Final Thought
The scale of plastic waste Australian businesses generate each year is bigger than most people realise, and the data shows the problem sitting mostly in systems and material choices rather than businesses lacking the will to change. With over a third of business landfill waste already recyclable and nearly half of it bagged, small, practical changes like switching to certified compostable products genuinely move the needle on the numbers. Environmental Resources works with Australian businesses to make that shift straightforward, backed by certification that holds up to scrutiny.