Australia’s Plastic Problem: Why Our Waste Still Ends Up in Landfill

February 16, 2026
by Brodie Cook

Most Aussies love our big backyard. We try to do the right thing by cleaning jars and filling the yellow bin. But Australia has a huge waste problem that is hard to see. Last year, plastic consumed in Australia hit nearly four million tonnes. This is a massive amount of plastic for our country to handle.

The real shock is the recovery data. About 87% of the plastic we consume goes to landfill. This means most packaging, from a milk bottle to a bread bag, ends up buried in the ground. Our system is not built to recover this much plastic waste. This leaves our environment to deal with a vast mess that never truly goes away.

The Soft Plastics Problem

The "scrunchable" packaging we use daily is a trap most of us fall into. When REDcycle collapsed, 11,000 tonnes of plastic were found hidden in warehouses because Australia couldn't recover them. Today, the vast majority of this material still ends up in landfill because we lack the industrial capacity to process the 538,000 tonnes we produce annually.

These light wrappers are a nightmare for sorting plants. They are hard to sort and easy to lose. They easily blow out of bins and trucks, becoming plastic waste that pollutes our oceans and harms marine life. But the issue goes deeper than soft plastics. Even rigid plastics with recycling symbols often end up in a landfill, but why?

Plastic Resin Codes: Recycling Rates and Australia’s Waste Challenge

Ever noticed the little numbers inside a triangle on your plastic bottles? Most of us think those "chasing arrows" mean an item is recycled. Sadly, that is one of the biggest myths in Australia. Those numbers are just "codes" to help workers sort plastic. They are not a promise that your council can actually recover them. Just because you consume a product in Australia doesn't mean it can be recycled locally.

Before we look at the codes, you should know about recovery rates. Simply put, a recovery rate is the "percentage chance" of a plastic item becoming something new. It is the real score for how well our system works.

Swipe table left to see full data ⮕

Code	Definition Name	Common Uses	Recovery Rate	Why it often hits Landfill
1	PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)	Soft drink & water bottles, peanut butter jars.	~25%	Porous material absorbs bacteria; the quality drops quickly during recycling.
2	HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene)	Milk jugs, shampoo bottles, detergent jugs.	~15–20%	Massive volume consumed outpaces Australia's existing processing capacity.
3	PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)	Cordial bottles, clear food packaging, blister packs.	<5%	Contains chlorine, which damages machinery and contaminates other batches.
4	LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene)	Bread bags, frozen food wraps, squeeze bottles.	<5%	Tangles in sorting machines; no major collection since REDcycle collapsed.
5	PP (Polypropylene)	Yogurt tubs, margarine containers, takeaway tubs.	~10–12%	Often soiled with food waste; cleaning costs are higher than making new plastic.
6	PS (Polystyrene)	Yogurt cups, plastic cutlery, and foam packaging.	<2%	Brittle and light; too expensive to collect and transport for the value.
7	OTHER (Mixed Plastics)	Multi-layer pouches, laundry pods, and BPA plastics.	~0%	Mixed materials fused together that are impossible for machines to separate.

Source: DCCEEW – Australian Plastics Flows and Fates Study (PDF)

When we consume these materials, we are almost certainly sending waste straight to a landfill burial ground. The system just isn't built to keep up with the sheer amount of plastic we use.

Why Avoiding Plastic Consumption is Better Than 'Recycling"

Instead of waiting for a recovery system that’s clearly stuck, the smartest move is to reduce the amount of soft plastic packaging you bring home. While plastic recycling sounds like a good solution, in reality, it’s the last line of defence. It uses a lot of energy, costs a lot of money, and often still ends up in a landfill. The real win sits at the very top of the waste hierarchy: Avoidance.

Avoidance simply means not bringing the rubbish home in the first place.

At Lucent Globe, we help you hit that top spot by ditching the plastic bottle entirely:

Better Packaging: We use cardboard boxes. Unlike the low recovery of plastic, Lucent Globe uses 100% recyclable cardboard that breaks down in weeks.
Zero Soft Plastic: We’ve scrapped the bags and pods that caused the REDcycle headache, so nothing from your laundry contributes to plastic pollution.
Lighter Footprint: Traditional detergents are 90% water. Our ultra-light sheets reduce transport emissions by nearly 90%, cutting down on unnecessary pollution across Australia.

By switching to sheets, you aren't just "recycling better"; you are choosing to consume smarter and stop the flow of plastic waste into our backyard for good.

Take the Power Back from the Recycle Bin

Reducing your soft plastic waste in Australia starts with simple daily choices. You can avoid a lot of waste by bringing your own reusable bags to supermarkets and picking loose veggies instead of wrapping them in plastic. Try buying bread from a local baker in a paper bag rather than a supermarket loaf in a soft plastic bag. These small wins at the checkout mean less single-use plastic packaging ends up in your home and, eventually, the landfill.

To make a huge dent in your plastic footprint, look at your laundry and kitchen cupboards. Most common cleaning products are sold in bulky plastic bottles that are rarely recycled properly.

Switch to the Lucent Globe range, and you can replace those heavy jugs with our full collection of plastic-free cleaning products.

From laundry and dishwashing to floor and multipurpose cleaners, we have a solution for every room. This simple change helps you avoid the "bin confusion" entirely while keeping our Australian oceans and backyards beautiful.