What Goes Around: Why Buying Recycled Matters Guide

Now, more than ever, recycling matters. Australia’s waste is growing around six times quicker than the population. The good news is that recycling is growing at an even faster rate than waste. Which is great. But to properly close the recycling loop, we also need to buy products made with recycled content.

This concept isn’t new. Promoting the buying of recycled products has been on the agenda of some governments and environmental bodies for decades (President Bill Clinton was promoting ‘buy recycled’ way back in 1993).

Most people know that paper products can be made with recycled materials. However, they’re less aware about road surfaces, printer cartridges, paving and carpet underlay. We may not realise it but we’re actually surrounded by items made with recycled content. Yet the demand for recycled products needs to grow for recycling to become more economically sustainable. The products are there, we just need to embrace them.

This guide has been produced to show households, businesses and councils just how to source and purchase products made with recycled content and why it is so important.