2022-23 litter data for NSW

This report details the findings from the NSW Key Littered Items Study for 2022–23. It provides insight into the composition of litter found in estuaries along the NSW coast and details progress towards NSW litter reduction targets.

2022-23 litter data indicates a steep decrease in litter levels from the previous year, which continues the wide fluctuations of annual data since the baseline was established using the average of surveys across 2018 and 2019:

  1. Normalcy has returned to the community since COVID-19 that helped drive the earlier downward trends in 2020 and 2021.
    • A seasonal pattern has emerged in KLIS – now apparent across the 7 years of surveying – that probably relates to increased littering during the warmer months that tapers off in the cooler months. In keeping with this pattern, the current very low litter levels are expected to partly ‘bounce back’ in the warmer months of 2023-24.
  2. The single-use plastic bans under the NSW Plastics Action Plan came into effect in the second half of 2022, which may explain some of the decrease in litter numbers from July 2022 onwards:
    • Modelling completed in 2019, forecast that the single-use plastic bans would produce an early impact in litter numbers, estimating a 19 per cent fall between 2022 and 2025.
    • In 2022-23, the result for plastic litter has already exceeded the forecast. While this can be partly explained by the bans coming into effect between July and November 2022, other factors such as rainfall are also likely to have had an impact on the overall figures.
    • A longer-term analysis of the data is needed to confirm the trends.

High-level findings

  • The density of littered items has decreased by 51% since 2021–22 (from 198 items per 1000 m2 to 96 items per 1000 m2).
  • The volume of litter has decreased by 56% since 2021–22 (from 18.48 litres per 1000 m2 to 8.06 litres).
  • The density of plastic littered items has decreased by 55% since 2021-22 (from 160 items per 1000 m2 to 73 items per 1000 m2).
  • The volume of plastic litter has decreased by 58% since 2021–22 (from 12.81 litres per 1000 m2 to 5.36 litres).
  • By category, takeaway and beverage items (35%) re the biggest contributor to litter density in NSW, followed by confectionary and snacks (18%).
  • By category, CDS eligible beverage containers (42%) are the biggest contributor to litter volume, followed by takeaway and beverage items (29%).
  • Confectionery wrappers (15%) were found to be the most-littered item, followed by straws (10%).
  • By material, plastic items accounted for by far the largest share of total litter, by density (79%) and volume (70%).

Progress towards litter reduction targets

Baseline and targets

The Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 and the NSW Plastics Action Plan have set two litter reduction targets for NSW. The baseline for these targets is the combined eight quarterly counts across 2018 and 2019 using the KLIS.

Progress towards targets

Target 1: 30% reduction in plastic litter items by 2025

In 2022–23, the number of plastic litter items per 1000 m2 had decreased by 54% since the baseline years (2018–2019). This exceeds the 2025 plastic litter reduction target, however litter data is inherently variable and any single year’s result should be interpreted with caution.

Target 2: 60% reduction in all litter items by 2030

In 2022–23, the number of all litter items per 1000 m2 had decreased by 49% since the baseline years (2018–2019).

This figure brings the trend to 11% short of the 2030 target however, as noted above, longer-term trend data is required to provide a more accurate assessment of progress towards this target.

The chart below shows the trends in litter density for plastic litter and all litter since the baseline years, showing the dip in numbers during the COVID-10 emergency, followed by a return to baseline levels, then a second decrease following the introduction of the single-use plastic bans in the second half of 2022.