Plastic litter, e-waste, vapes on the rise: report

E-waste is one of the top 10 littered materials across Australia, with vapes representing 54.7 per cent of all e-waste reported, according to new data.

The newly released Clean Up Australia Litter report for FY2024, shows battery and vape waste has increased in the past 12 months.

However soft plastics continue to be the most common litter type.

Since 2019 plastics have dominated the litter landscape and increased as a percentage of overall litter since 2020.

Clean Up Australia’s annual Litter Report is a snapshot of litter collected across Australia from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

Since 1991, the Litter Report has identified trends in the types and spread of litter throughout Australia. It continues to demonstrate the importance of refusing, reducing, re-using and recycling rubbish.

The collated data is made up of information supplied by over one million Australians who registered for Clean Up events.

Pip Kiernan, Chair of Clean Up Australia Day, said hard, soft, mixed plastics and polystyrene represented 80.7 per cent of all litter items counted, and is of great concern for the environment.

“Most of that litter was found in waterways which serves an important reminder that everything we drop on the ground is likely to end up in a waterway eventually,” said Kiernan.

“Plastic is the most problematic when it comes to the environment. In Australia we are one of the largest consumers of bottled water in the world, despite having free, plentiful tap water that tastes good, almost everywhere.”

Cigarette butts were the second highest wasted recorded, accounting for 20.1 per cent of all counted litter, while plastic bags ranked third (6.9 per cent of all counted items).

“Cigarette butts continue to be right up there in the rankings which is extremely problematic,” said Kiernan.

“People tend to forget that cigarettes are predominantly plastic, given how small they are. They can often be misconstrued as harmless, but they are the opposite. They are often mistaken as food by our marine and wildlife and once ingested release toxins harmful to the waterways and animals.”

Other materials that remain a problem for both health and environment are batteries and vapes.

While batteries and e-waste devices with embedded batteries make up only 0.7 per cent of all counted litter for 2024, the report states they are a problem item in the environment due to the release of toxins when incorrectly disposed.

Similarly, vapes are problematic in landfill and as litter because they contain batteries, plastic, and hazardous waste which can leak into groundwater.

Vapes were collected from 30.1 per cent of sites in 2024, an increase of 7.7 per cent on sites in 2023.

Kiernan said although there is solid legislation on the importation of vapes, Australia does not have a nationally consistent scheme in place for their collection and safe disposal.

“We call vapes a triple threat item because they are plastic waste, e-waste, and hazardous waste,” she said.

“This means they are damaging to the environment, but equally so, they are damaging when they end up in the kerbside bin where they also don’t belong.

“We need a consistent scheme in place for the disposal of these items, because the consumer is very confused about what to do with them, as it varies from location to location around the country.”

In good news, the report acknowledges the success Australia has in Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) networks.

Beverage containers accounted for 15.0 per cent of all counted national litter. With New South Wales beverage container counts dropping 13.6 per cent since the CDS was established in 2017.

The report states that national beverage container litter levels are also expected to begin to decrease, with operational CDS in place in all states and territories from 2025.

For those looking to get involved in litter reduction at a local level, Kiernan encourages joining in the 2025 Clean Up Australia Day event, now celebrating its 35th year.

Held on the first Sunday in March, the annual occasion is the nation’s largest community-based environmental event. Over 22 million Australians have participated over the years.

“This event is a positive practical action, meaning you see the results straight away,” she said.

“Often is it propels people to go and make other changes to lighten their footprint.”

For more information, www.cleanup.org.au/