State of the Environment

2006

Indicator: HS-65 Amounts of hazardous waste

Data

Generation of hazardous wastes (tonnes)
(as defined under the Basel Convention) 2001 & 2002
Waste category 2001 2002
Clinical wastes 38 653 53 048
Wastes from the production of pharmaceutical products 632 605
Wastes pharmaceuticals, drugs, medicines 2 874 3 033
Wastes from the production of biocides and phytopharmaceuticals 991 885
Wastes from the manufacture and use of wood preserving chemicals 325 897
Wastes from the production and use of organic solvents 4 971 4 709
Waste mineral oils 65 079 49 044
Waste oil emulsions, mixtures 152 543 155 755
Waste containing PCBs, and/or PCTs and/or PBBs 907 990
Waste tarry residues from refining, distillation, and any pyrolytic treatment 2 590 1 601
Wastes from production and use of inks, dyes, pigments, paints, lacquers, varnish 51 943 38 751
Wastes from the production and use of resins, latex, plasticizers, glues/adhesives 14 584 9 402
Waste chemical substances (not identified and/or new) from R&D or teaching activities 1 085 2 253
Wastes of an explosive nature, not subject to other legislation - 2
Wastes from the production and use of photographic chemicals and processing materials 7 889 5 936
Wastes from surface treatment of metals and plastics 5 608 5 326
Residues from industrial waste disposal operations 23 141 37 648
Other hazardous wastes 276 296 272 530

Source: Department of the Environment and Heritage 2004, Generation of hazardous wastes (tonnes)2001 & 2002, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra.

Hazardous waste items disposed of by households1996-2003
Capital Cities Rest of Australia Australia-wide
('000) % ('000) % ('000) %
March 2003
Garden chemicals or their containers 606.8 13.0 437.9 14.9 1044.7 13.7
Paint products or their containers 773.3 16.6 530.4 18.1 1303.7 17.1
Metal cleaners or their containers 222.0 4.8 189.5 6.5 411.6 5.4
Oven cleaners or their containers 924.3 19.8 698.7 23.8 1623.0 21.3
Fluorescent tubes or globes 855.3 18.3 628.5 21.4 1483.8 19.5
Household batteries 2826.8 60.6 1906.7 64.9 4733.5 62.2
Car batteries 685.5 14.7 488.1 16.6 1173.6 15.4
Motor oil 1289.6 27.6 861.5 29.3 2151.1 28.3
Medicines, drugs or ointments 1667.4 35.7 1009.4 34.4 2676.8 35.2
Did not dispose of items listed 902.0 19.3 455.9 15.5 1357.9 17.9
Total households 4667.8 100.0 2937.4 100.0 7605.2 100.0
March 2000
Garden chemical or their containers 630.0 14.1 420.3 14.9 1050.4 14.4
Paint products or their containers 726.1 16.2 466.0 16.6 1192.1 16.3
Metal cleaners or their containers 261.1 5.8 184.3 6.6 445.5 6.1
Oven cleaners or their containers 1012.3 22.6 715.1 25.4 1727.4 23.7
Fluorescent tubes or globes 823.4 18.4 598.2 21.3 1421.7 19.5
Household batteries 2443.4 54.6 1720.0 61.1 4163.4 57.1
Car batteries 575.5 12.8 503.3 17.9 1078.8 14.8
Motor oil 547.0 12.2 487.9 17.3 1034.9 14.2
Medicines drugs or ointments 1715.9 38.3 1063.7 37.8 2779.6 38.1
Did not dispose of items listed 1080.6 24.1 517.3 18.4 1597.9 21.9
Total households 4479.1 100.0 2813.4 100.0 7292.6 100.0
March 1996
Garden chemical or their containers 259.5 6.4 207.1 7.9 466.6 7.0
Paint products or their containers 477.0 11.8 292.5 11.2 769.5 11.5
Metal cleaners or their containers 135.0 3.3 96.9 3.7 231.9 3.5
Oven cleaners or their containers 430.3 10.6 292.1 11.2 722.4 10.8
Fluorescent tubes or globes 406.4 10.0 284.2 10.9 690.5 10.4
Household batteries 674.9 16.6 404.2 15.5 1079.1 16.2
Car batteries 468.8 11.6 354.8 13.6 823.6 12.4
Motor oil 381.8 9.4 272.0 10.4 653.8 9.8
Medicines drugs or ointments 806.8 19.9 514.3 19.7 1321.2 19.8
Did not dispose of items listed 2154.1 53.1 1355.2 51.9 3509.3 52.6
Total households 4057.4 100.0 2610.6 100.0 6667.9 100.0

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, Hazardous waste items disposed of by households1996-2003, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.

Household disposal of hazardous wastes: items deposed by method - March 2000
(Proportion of households - %)
Garden chemicals Paint products Metal cleaners Oven cleaners Fluorescent tubes/globes Household batteries Car batteries Motor oil Pharmaceuticals
With usual garbage collection 71.2 52.1 76.7 90.4 81.7 93.0 5.4 7.2 53.5
Special service from house 7.6 10.6 6.8 3.1 4.5 0.7 10.2 3.0 0.5
Dump - general area 6.7 14.9 6.5 3.3 6.0 2.8 5.1 4.9 1.0
Dump - special area 7.8 15.3 5.0 0.7 1.6 1.1 17.9 17.5 0.4
Central collection point 3.0 3.2 1.2 0.3 0.8 0.7 8.0 5.8 2.1
Poured down the drain 0.4 0.6 0.2 0.1 - - - 0.3 23.9
Taken to a business or shop 1.2 1.0 0.7 0.1 2.2 0.9 46.2 43.3 23.5
Buried them 0.8 0.9 1.4 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.2 2.3 1.0
Other 3.8 4.0 2.5 2.1 2.9 0.6 7.7 16.7 2.0

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2000, Environmental Issues: People's Views and Practices, ABS, Canberra, p. 16.

What the data mean

In 2002 Australia generated 272 530 tonnes of hazardous wastes as defined under the Basel Convention. More than half (155 755 tonnes) of the wastes belonged to the waste oil, emulsions, mixtures category.

There has been a dramatic increase in the proportion of households that dispose of hazardous household chemicals and their containers properly from only 47% of households in 1996 to 82% in 2003.

The bulk of the household hazardous materials, except car batteries, motor oil and pharmaceuticals, were disposed of by households with usual garbage collection. More than half the amount of pharmaceutical wastes were also disposed of along with household garbage while a little less than a quarter was taken to a business or shop for disposal. More than 40% of car batteries and motor oil wastes were taken to a business or shop for disposal.

Data Limitations

Hazardous waste movement in Australia is monitored only in relation to the Basel Convention and the data reported here relates to the monitoring of import and export of hazardous material. There is no systematic monitoring of hazardous wastes produced and disposed by households in Australia.

Issues for which this is an indicator and why

Human Settlements — Pressures created by human settlements on the environment - Waste 

Quantities of hazardous waste is one indicator for the pressure of waste from human settlements on the environment.

Other indicators for this issue:

Further Information

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