The numbers behind it
According to WasteSorted, the average WA household throws away around 28 kilograms of waste every week, which is probably more than many of us might expect.
But if you think about what you use every week, it quickly adds up. A cereal box, a couple of cans, a glass jar, some paper and a few plastic containers. None seems particularly important on its own. But repeat those choices every week, in every household, and the numbers quickly become significant.
One container at a time
Containers for Change provides a great example of what happens when millions of small actions are added together.
As of 26 July 2026, Western Australians had returned 5.54 billion eligible drink containers through the scheme. That's not the result of one enormous recycling effort. It's the result of people returning a few containers at a time, over and over again.
And those containers really do go on to have another life. They're sorted by material and sent to accredited recyclers, where they can be turned into new products.
It gets easier with practice
The good thing about recycling is that the more you do it, the less effort it takes. What might initially require a little thought soon becomes automatic.
And once you're paying more attention to what you're throwing away, you may start spotting other opportunities to reduce waste, such as having something repaired or avoiding unnecessary packaging when you're shopping.
WasteSorted encourages households to look beyond simply filling the bin, with reducing, reusing, repairing and recycling all playing a part in keeping useful things out of landfill.
The little things really do matter
The next time you rinse a jar, flatten a box or set aside a container for recycling, remember that you're not doing something insignificant.
Sources:
WasteSorted WA,
Containers for Change (WA)
