Latest progress report
The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy Progress Report 2017-18 is the first time the EPA has reported against the WARR Strategy 2014-21. The Progress Report 2017-18 uses a new more robust methodology for measuring waste generation, disposal and recycling. The change in methodology means that the waste generation, disposal and recycling data in the Progress Report 2017-18 cannot be compared with the data from previous progress reports.
Progress against key result areas
KRA 1 – Avoid and reduce waste generation
Between 2015-16 and 2017-18, total waste generated per capita rose from 2.42 tonnes to 2.69 tonnes. This was primarily due to increased construction activity. However, there was a steady reduction in municipal solid waste (MSW) generated per capita during this period.
KRA 2 – Increase recycling
Progress has been made towards the 2021-22 targets. Both construction and demolition (C&D) and commercial and industrial (C&I) show growth in recycling rates. C&D recycling has been at or near the 80% target rate over the last three years, while C&I has increased from 47% in 2015-16 to 53% in 2017-18 against a target of 70%. The MSW recycling rate, however, remained steady at 42% between these periods against a target of 70%.
KRA 3 – Divert more waste from landfill
The diversion rate in 2017-18 was 65%, up from 63% in 2015-16, against a 2021-22 target of 75%. This was largely driven by the high resource recovery rates for construction activity. Going forward, investments from Waste Less, Recycle More grant funding have generated a pipeline of infrastructure that will progressively come online and increase NSW recycling capacity by almost 2 million tonnes per year.
KRA 4 – Manage problem wastes better
In 2017-18, NSW exceeded its target of 86 drop-off facilities or services for managing household problem wastes, with 87 Community Recycling Centres operational. This now means that 62% of NSW residents have access to problem waste services, with the program continuing to expand.
KRA 5 – Reduce litter items
Between 2011-12 and 2017-18, litter items in NSW fell by almost a third. While this is still short of the target of a 40% reduction by 2016-17, the success of a wide range of NSW litter programs, most notably the Return and Earn scheme, has been driving significant progress and is expected to continue to deliver positive results.
KRA 6 – Reduce illegal dumping
In 2016-17, a statewide target to reduce illegal dumping incidents by 30% by 2020 was developed using new data. This has been backed up by almost $20 million in funding for illegal dumping programs and new online resources to help local government record and manage dumping incidents.
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- Progress Report 2017-18 (PDF 332KB)
- Calculation method for waste generation, recycling and diversion 2017-18 (PDF 101KB)
- Data Quality Statement 2017-18 (PDF 88KB)
Historical progress reports
The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy Progress Report 2014-15 summarises progress towards meeting the targets in the NSW Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (WARR) Strategy 2007 and makes comparisons to previous progress reports using the same methodology.
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