The report, which was published by national science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) on Wednesday, found that Australia's circularity rate, the measure of resources that are reused and recycled, is 4 percent compared to a global average of 8 percent.
Alessio Miatto, a CSIRO scientist and author of the report, said that Australia has successfully reduced its material footprint over the last decade but uses four times the materials to service a person's needs compared to the global average.
According to the report, housing and transport make up half of Australia's material footprint and food another 22 percent.
The findings were based on 2019 data on economy-wide material flows.
In 2019, it said Australia extracted and harvested 2,587 million tonnes of materials, which were supplemented by 119 million tonnes of imported materials and 39 million tonnes of domestically recycled materials.
Heinz Schandl, leader of the CSIRO's circular economy research, said in a media release that by capitalizing on circular economy opportunities in housing, mobility, food and energy Australia could double its circularity rate.
"Australia currently recycles 39 million tonnes of materials, which is about half of all materials captured through municipal, industrial, and construction waste schemes. The other half is going to landfill which is a lost opportunity," he said.
The report said that by adopting circular economy principles Australia could significantly cut its greenhouse gas emissions, reduce pollution and result in cleaner air, soil and water.
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