Main material types littered

Key finding

The National Litter Index provides estimates of litter by material type.

The average number and volume of all types of litter is higher at Queensland sites than the Australian average, with the exception of large items and the volume of glass. (‘Large items’ are called ‘illegal dumping’ in the National Litter Index, but are too small to meet the definition of illegal dumping in Queensland. They include items such as e-waste and bags of rubbish.)

The proportion of cigarette butts and non-cigarette litter is similar for Queensland and Australia across all site types and there was no obvious difference in the types of litter present across different site types.

• Cigarette butts are the most frequently identified item although they make up only a small proportion of total volume of waste.
• Paper and plastics are the next most frequently identified items. They also contribute relatively high volumes.
• Glass is the least prevalent litter item, with low numbers and volume of glass items recorded. A lower volume but higher number of glass items was recorded in Queensland than Australia, due to a higher proportion of small glass items in Queensland.
• Fewer large items were recorded in Queensland.

More information:

• National litter index
• Number of litter items in Queensland
• Number of litter items for different site types

• Previous Number of litter items for different site types
• Next Illegal dumping in Queensland