Insights

Solving our recycling dilemmas

Australians and recycling:
attitudes, behaviours and outlook

Cleanaway, Australia’s largest waste management company, is committed to reducing emissions across its business while educating Australians about improving recycling levels and reducing landfill waste and emissions. The CEFC has worked with Cleanaway since 2017 to support an ambitious program of initiatives including the online education platform Greenius and the development of Recycling Behaviours Reports which provide insights into the changing attitudes and behaviours of Australians around recycling.

About this report

Greenius and the Recycling Behaviours Reports

Greenius and the Recycling Behaviours Reports were developed by Cleanaway with support from the CEFC.

Recycling behaviours report, June 2026

about the industry

Waste management market solutions

An efficient and robust recycling system that supports a circular economy is based on consumer trust and cooperation, efficient recycling infrastructure and the reuse of materials in product design and manufacture.

Increasing education and improving understanding about the state of recycling in Australia can help us lower emissions by taking action to positively change consumer behaviour.

about Greenius

Greenius, Cleanaway’s e-learning platform, was developed to make recycling easy for households and everyday consumers and to strengthen understanding about Australia’s recycling system

Greenius takes users on a recycling journey through gamification, videos, animations and quizzes, and is easily accessed via mobile device or desktop.

Explore Greenius

report findings

Market insights

Recycling Behaviours Report 2026

Australia's recycling system is entering a turning point

The 2026 Recycling Behaviours report surveyed 1,000 Australians aged 18 and over from across Australia in both capital cities and regional areas.

Awareness of the circular economy is at an all-time high, with near-universal support for packaging reforms that reduce reliance on virgin materials and divert waste from landfill.
Most Australians are trying to recycle soft plastics, but a combination of misleading packaging, system confusion and a lack of practical solutions are hampering genuine outcomes.
83 per cent of those surveyed believe there should be national consistency in recycling standards.
Over half of Australians say they would recycle more items if they had a bigger recycling bin.

Reports reveal improving recycling habits

Previous Recycling Behaviours reports have revealed that Australians believe recycling is important, but that a substantial portion of valuable material goes to landfill because of inaccurate recycling processes.

Over time, Australians have increasingly sought minimal packaging when shopping and to repair rather than replace items.

Paper and cardboard rank as the easiest items to recycle, followed by hard plastics and garden plant cuttings. Chemicals rank as the most difficult, followed by e-waste and paint cans.

Previous reports

The CEFC has been supporting the Cleanaway Recycling Behaviours report since it was launched in 2021. View the previous reports.