National Waste Report 2013 » Next
This section provides an overview of national waste reporting in Australia.
Overview
In 2010, the first National Waste Report was published providing a one-stop shop for key national waste and recycling information in Australia. It provided the evidence base for the National Waste Policy: Less waste, more resources, which was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments in 2010 and sets Australia's waste management and resource recovery direction to 2020.
An evaluation process for the National Waste Report 2010 identified the most frequently stated benefits of the National Waste Report 2010.The benefits included:
- for the first time, the data and information were consolidated in one place
- the report provided an accessible overview, highlighted gaps and raised awareness
- the report was collaborative, reflecting a commitment to the issue, it enabled comparison of state and territory performance, presenting data by categories including organic waste, contamination, benchmarking and landfill and provided examples of what could be done1.
National Waste Report 2013
National Waste Report 2013, hosted on the Department of the Environment website, builds on the achievements of the National Waste Report 2010 (see Table 1).
The resource provides a tool for responding to comments received at the evaluation workshops for improvements on the 2010 report.
National Waste Report 2013 allows users to access timely national waste reporting products which can also be updated as new data and information becomes available.
Transitioning from a static report into a dynamic online resource has enabled increased user-interaction with both the data sets and the waste infrastructure and kerbside recycling mapping tool. In developing this resource, the Australian Government coordinated access to a range of state and territory data to provide a national perspective. National Waste Reporting 2013 uses an agreed methodology to assist in comparing data across different state and territory data sets, noting that differences in definitions, classifications and approaches to waste data exist between states.
National Waste Report 2013 provides improved access to more information to inform governments, markets and the public. Links are included to the websites of state and territory agencies responsible for waste management and to other Australian Government agencies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics that provide relevant data on waste issues.
National Waste Report 2013 is designed around key topics to assist users to locate information of interest. A brief overview document on each theme is provided, followed by a range of options depending on the topic, such as fact sheets, direct reports, interactive mapping or data workbooks.
| National Waste Report 2010 suggested improvements | NWR 2013 |
|---|---|
|
Report more widely publicised and distributed to improve awareness. |
NWR 2013 online resource allows for more widespread distribution. |
|
Government to host a website with interactive access to data and information, including spreadsheets of raw data for users to do their own analyses. |
NWR 2013 includes: |
|
More information on organics, landfill, agriculture, commercial, industrial, construction and demolition wastes. |
NWR 2013 includes factsheets on these topics— with the exception of agricultural waste for which there is limited data—with links to supporting research reports. |
|
Improve data accuracy and suitability (aim for 6 to 12 months maximum). |
Data for the key data report has been quality assured and supporting data is published. Online format allows for timely publication. |
|
More frequent regular information on national waste, resource recovery and re-use. |
Contributes to creating a dynamic National Waste Reporting online resource. |
Download
1National Waste Report 2010 Evaluation Workshops August-November 2010 report