Australia's Plastic Problem

In 2020-21 Australia consumed the equivalent weight of 72 Sydney Harbour Bridges in plastic in a year. It’s only gotten worse.

By 2023-24, plastic waste had grown to 3.2 million tonnes, up from 3 million the year before. And government projections have us on track for a very different future from the one we want.

We have a plastic problem. And recycling alone is not going to solve it. Here's what the data actually shows, and what we can all do about it.

How much plastic are we actually using?

Australia's plastic consumption has risen steadily this century. 

In 2000, Australians consumed 1.79 million tonnes of plastic. By 2020-21, that figure had more than doubled to 3.79 million tonnes, a 116% increase in just 20 years. Per person, that's grown from 92 kg in 2000 to 148 kg in 2020-21, a 60% increase. 

The projections are harder to sit with. 

Government modelling estimates that by 2049-50, each Australian will consume 260 kg of plastic per year, 

That’s 77% more than today, as Australia's total plastic consumption balloons to 9.7 million tonnes annually. 

In 2022-23 alone, over 1.2 million tonnes of plastic packaging was placed on the Australian market. 

What happens to it all?

Of the 56.9 million tonnes of plastic Australia has consumed since 2000, more than half, 31.9 million tonnes, has been sent to landfill, illegally dumped, or leaked into the environment, rather than recovered for recycling or reuse. 

Only around 15% of all plastic waste generated over the last 20 years has been recovered through recycling, composting, or energy recovery. 

In 2020-21 alone, just 14% of plastic waste was recovered, down from a high of nearly 18% in 2008. 

The recovery rate has, at best, remained flat over two decades. At worst, it's trending down.

Of the plastic packaging placed on market in 2022-23, just 19% was recovered, falling well short of the national target to recycle or compost 70% of packaging by 2025. 

The gap between what we produce and what we recover is not closing. It's widening.

The recycling problem

Recycling is often held up as the answer. The reality is more complicated.

Plastic is difficult to recycle. 

There are thousands of different types, and they can't be processed together. Small levels of contamination can degrade an entire batch. Recycling rates for rigid plastics in Australia sit at 26%; for flexible plastics, just 7%. 

Recycling has a pollution problem 

Research has found that large quantities of microplastics are generated in the recycling process itself, making recycling centres a likely major point source of microplastic pollution.

Recycled plastic simply can't compete with virgin plastic on cost

The economics are stark. The plastics industry globally is planning to invest $400 billion in new petrochemical plants, betting on increasing demand for virgin plastic. A 2021 Minderoo Foundation report found that the 100 largest plastic producers procure no more than 2% of their stock from recycled sources. 

What is leaking into our environment?

250 kg of plastic leaks into Australia's environment every single minute. 

Packaging makes up 58% of all litter collected across the country. 

Plastic pollution kills an estimated one million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals per year globally. 

Turtles, seals, birds, whales, and fish in Australian waters are dying from entanglement, maiming, and starvation. 

Microplastics have been found in 94% of oysters globally and in the gastrointestinal tracts of 62% of fish in Australia. [1] A study of the Great Australian Bight found approximately 14 million tonnes of microplastics on the ocean floor alone. 

The core problem

Australia's plastic policies have consistently focused on recovery, particularly recycling, rather than reducing consumption. But as the numbers above make clear, that approach is not working. Recovery rates have barely moved in 20 years, and consumption is forecast to keep climbing steeply. 

As the Australia Institute's 2024 report puts it: the plastic waste crisis is driven by ever-increasing production and consumption, not by an underperforming recycling industry. 

The only genuinely effective response is to reduce how much plastic gets made and used in the first place.

How you can help

The numbers are confronting. But here's what we know: individual choices, at scale, genuinely matter. 

Every piece of single-use plastic you don't buy is one that never enters the system.

And when millions of people make those small swaps, the impact is real.

We started All of the Good Things because we believe it should be easy, and even joyful, to make choices that are good for people and the planet. 

Every product we stock is chosen with exactly that in mind: beautiful, practical alternatives to single-use plastic that you'll actually want to use.

All our gift packaging is made from recycled & upcycled components, right down to the upcycled sari ribbons.

Here are a few simple places to start:

• Swap your plastic shampoo bottle for a plastic-free shampoo bar

• Replace cling film with beeswax wraps

• Ditch disposable shopping bags for a gorgeous tote

• Use reusable produce bags for your fruit & veges

These aren't sacrifices. They're upgrades, and they add up fast.

Browse our full plastic free range at allofthegoodthings.com

References

[1] The Australia Institute, Australia's Plastic Problem (2024)

[2]https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/24/australias-amount-of-plastic-waste-surges-as-recycling-rates-fail-to-improve

[3] https://www.marineconservation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/AMCS_CuttingPlastics_Online.pdf