Phase one of the waste data project investigated the weight factors commonly used by Councils. It provided an updated set of weight factors that Councils could use to improve the quality of their data.

As documented on the NSW EPA website, the 2018–19 report findings show that:

• NSW households generated a total of 3.66 million tonnes of domestic waste, sending 1.94 million tonnes of residual waste to landfill, with the remaining 1.72 million tonnes being recycled.
• The average NSW household generated 21.75 kg of waste a week.
• The average kerbside service collected 4.0 kg of recyclables, 5.3 kg of garden organics or 7.5kg of Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) and 10.9 kg of residual waste. The average person in NSW generated 8.8 kg of waste a week.
• The overall recycling rate for household waste was 47%, this has increased from 37.8% in 2005–06.

Phase two of this project will investigate what technologies are currently available to assist Councils in recording vehicles at unmanned landfills. This project is due to get underway by June 2021.