However, along with (the recently abandoned) plans to hugely expand Sydney's Lucas Heights Landfill, which receives the lions' share of Sydney's waste, was a study shedding new light on the composition of waste generated by a major urban area.
Most importantly, the study provides valuable information about what's in the bin when segregated by both weight and volume, and by both material and product.
Until now it has been difficult to find comprehensive and reliable data on the composition of the domestic waste stream. And establishing such information from industry production figures has proven an even more arduous task, with vital statistics often being withheld on supposed "confidentiality" grounds.
| % by Wt | % by Vol.1 | |
| By Material: | ||
| Compostables (food, garden) | 61.6 | 33.0 |
| Paper (cardboard, newsprint, misc, magazines) | 16.4 | 27.1 |
| Plastic (film, various bottles) | 8.0 | 26.2 |
| Mixed (textiles, cartons, nappies, rubber, batteries, medical) | 5.0 | 6.1 |
| Metals (ferrous & non-ferrous) | 4.0 | 5.2 |
| Glass (white, brown, green) | 5.0 | 2.4 |
| By Product Type: | ||
| Packaging (incl. plastic film; excl. misc paper & batteries) | 23.4 | 43.0 |
| Packaging (further excluding cardboard boxes) | 19.9 | 34.1 |
| Containers (excluding cardboard boxes & batteries) | 11.5 | 18.2 |
| Plastic Film | 4.9 | 15.9 |
| Plastic Bottles | 3.1 | 10.3 |
| Cardboard Boxes | 3.5 | 8.9 |
| Newspapers | 6.3 | 8.2 |
| Misc Paper | 4.5 | 7.9 |
| Textiles (rags etc) | 2.0 | 2.8 |
| Steel Cans and Aerosols | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| Glass Bottles and Jars | 5.0 | 2.4 |
| Magazines | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Milk/Juice Cartons | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| Disposable Nappies | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| Aluminium Cans | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| Other Steel | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Other Non-Ferrous | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Rubber | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Batteries (Dry Cell) | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Medical | 0.1 | 0.0 |