Our most densely populated city is on track to run out of landfill space in less than six years.

It’s a fate that could see Sydney’s trash sent regional or even interstate for disposal.

Now, the NSW government is taking action with a comprehensive new waste plan that includes incentivizing landfill operators to recycle more, and forcing households to compost.

And the issue isn’t Sydney’s alone.

Last year the nation produced almost 76 million tonnes of waste, which is an average of 540 kilograms of household waste per person.

We send about 20 million tonnes of that to landfill annually, while our recycling rates have stagnated over the last decade.

In fact, we could all be on the brink of saying goodbye to our red household rubbish bins because there simply won’t be anywhere for that trash to go.

So how can we save our country from this burgeoning waste crisis? Or is it already too late?