Waste management worth $10.4 billion in Australia

"The supply of waste management services was up by nearly $1 billion on the previous year, and there was also an increase in the sales of recyclable or recoverable waste," said Mark Lound from the ABS.

"The value of sales of waste went from $4.6 billion in 2009-10 to $5.4 billion in 2010-11.

"Household expenditure on waste management services - which is mostly municipal rates - rose slightly; households spent $1.9 billion on waste management, up by nine per cent from 2009-10.

"The total amount of waste generated in Australia was just over 53 million tonnes, down from 54 million tonnes in 2009-10.

"The construction industry and households were the main waste creators, each producing just over 14 million tonnes. Waste produced by the construction industry decreased by 1.6 million tonnes or 10 per cent from 2009-10.

"In 2010-11, a total of 31 million tonnes of waste was recovered, and 22 million tonnes sent to landfill. This is a fall of 14 per cent in the amount of waste going to landfill from the previous year.

"Masonry remains the most recovered type of waste material, accounting for just over a third of all recovered waste," said Lound.

Waste Account, Australia aligns with the United Nations System of Environmental Accounts that became an international standard in 2012.