The recycling rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the United States stood at 32.1 percent in 2018. Although recycling rates in the North American country have increased considerably since the 1990s, it has slowed down in recent years, experiencing little change since 2010.

The recycling rate of lead-acid batteries in the U.S. municipal waste stream stood at about ** percent in 2018. By contrast, only some ** percent of the PET bottles and jars generated in the North American country were recycled that year.

Forecast: Municipal Waste Recycling Rate in the US 2024 - 2028 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

In 2018, some *** percent of plastic waste generated in the United States municipal solid waste stream was recycled. The amount of plastic waste recycled in the North American country has remained low since the 1960s, despite the volume of plastic waste generated having increased massively since then. With some *** million tons of plastic waste generated in 1970, the United States now produces more than ** million tons of plastic each year. And while the recycling rate of plastic waste has increased from less than *** percent in 1980 to about *** percent in 2018, the United States still has a long way to go to improve their part in the global plastic waste crisis.

The recycling rate of paper and paperboard in the United States stood at nearly 67 percent in 2023. Paper recycling in the North American country has improved significantly over the past three decades.

Lead has one of the highest metal recycling rates in the United States, with about 69 percent of the annual supply recycled in 2021. Magnesium, aluminum, and nickel all had recycling rates above 50 percent. Meanwhile, iron and steel recycled in the U.S. amounted to nearly 50 million metric tons that year, resulting in a recycling rate of roughly 44 percent.

The recycling rate of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles sourced in the United States was decreased in 2020 to **** percent. By weight, PET bottles accounted for some ** percent of U.S. sourced post-consumer bottles recovered for recycling in 2020. Plastic waste generation   The use of plastics began to gain popularity in the 1960’s as mass production costs fell. Since then, municipal plastic waste generation in the U.S. has increased dramatically. By 1990, the volume of plastic generated in the municipal solid waste stream amounted to ** million tons, and by 2018 this figure had risen above ** million tons. Plastic waste exports   The United States is one of the largest exporters of plastic waste worldwide. In 2021, U.S. scrap plastic exports totaled **** billion pounds. Nevertheless, U.S. exports of plastic waste have fallen substantially in recent years, mainly due to import countries, such as China, banning foreign shipments.

Curbside recycling is the most popular recycling program in the United States. In 2021, over ** percent of the U.S. population had access to curbside recycling services only, while an additional ** percent had access to both curbside and drop-off recycling. When compared to other developed countries around the world, the recycling rate in the United States is rather low, especially in contrast to European countries such as Germany, Slovenia or Austria.

For each Community District, its Recycling Diversion rate (percentage of total municipal solid waste collected by the Department of Sanitation that is disposed of by recycling) and Capture Rate (percentage of total Paper or Metal/Glass/Plastic in the waste stream that is disposed of by recycling). For more information about DSNY's recycling programs, see: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/site/services/recycling. Capture rate is the amount of materials set out for residential recycling collection as a percentage of designated recyclable materials in both recycling and refuse streams. This ratio measures how much of the targeted materials are actually being recycled, which is a measure of how successfully such materials are recycled. Please note that since 2013, DSNY no longer uses capture rate information. For information on what is in NYC's waste, see: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/site/resources/reports/waste-characterization.

This statistic shows the gross recycling rate of PET post consumer bottles collected in the United States from 2000 to 2017. In 2017, **** percent of bottles on U.S. shelves were collected for recycling. The recycling rates of countries around the world can be viewed here.

In 2014, **** percent of the volume of U.S. aluminum cans shipped within the country was domestically recycled by consumers. Since then, this figure has decreased to approximately **** percent in 2018. This consumer rate excludes imported can scrap and accounts for movement of unfilled cans into and out of the United States.

One of the first mass recycling programs in the United States was implemented in 1970 in Hawaii. Since then, the recovery of municipal solid waste (MSW) for recycling has increased, surpassing 69 million tons in 2018.

Plastic waste recycling China was once the leading destination for plastic waste exports from the United States. However, in 2017, the East Asian country implemented a ban on the import of most plastic waste. Since then, shipments of U.S. plastic waste have changed, with neighboring countries Canada and Mexico now being the main destinations. In addition to that, much of the previously exported plastic waste must now be dealt with domestically but – despite having increased in recent years – the plastic recycling rate in the North American country is still low.

Recycling schemes in the U.S. Single stream recycling is one of the most commonly used recycling schemes by material recovery facilities (MRFs) in the United States. This system allows many different types of recyclables – including paper, plastic, metal, and glass – to be placed into one container. While single stream recycling tends to increase recycling rates due to its ease, encouraging consumers to recycle, more than eight percent of U.S. population do not have access to recycling programs. Furthermore, allowing consumers to put all materials into one waste bin increases contamination such as broken glass or presence of non-recyclable items.

Reported recycling rate is the highest among younger generations where ** percent of respondents between 18 and 34 years stated that they recycled, while only ** percent of those over 65 years old reported recycling.

The recycling rate of municipal plastic packaging and container products in the U.S. has increased significantly since plastic recycling first started in the *****. PET bottles are one of the most widely recycled plastic products in the U.S., and between 1980 and 1990 the recycling rate of these products increased from *** percent to **** percent. However, in recent years the recycling rate of PET bottles and jars has slowed down, staying at around ** percent since 2010.

On America Recycles Day, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a National Recycling Goal to increase the U.S. recycling rate of materials generated in municipal solid waste (MSW) to 50 percent by 2030. To further this goal and support the building of new recycling infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), EPA developed a map displaying estimated generation of recyclable materials, estimated recycled quantities, existing recycling infrastructure, potential recycling end markets, and other MSW infrastructure such as landfills and transfer stations. The map can be used to identify infrastructure gaps, facilitate a needs analysis, and better understand where funding could be allocated to enhance markets. This dataset provides estimated tons generated and recycled by U.S. ZIP code and material. It relies on materials management reports and surveys from various states and regions, State Measurement Program (SMP) data, the Ball Corporation's Fifty States of Recycling, EPA's EPA’s Excess Food Opportunities Map, and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey dataset. EPA estimated the quantities generated and recycled by ZIP code by dividing state reported generation and recycled quantities by the population for each state and for each material to arrive at state-specific per capita rates. Those per capita rates were then applied to the population of each ZIP code in each corresponding state. By clicking on the map, the user can see the estimated tons generated per capita and recycled per capita. Estimated recycling potential for each material is the difference between estimated tons generated and estimated tons recycled. The ZIP codes with the greatest difference in generated and recycled tons have higher estimated recycling potential.The data were then integrated with a U.S. Census Bureau Tiger Database ZIP code shapefile to create the resulting data layer. The ZIP code shapefile was simplified to remove vertices. This dataset includes 16 recyclable material types: aluminum, cardboard, electronics, food waste, glass, HDPE bottles #2, PET bottles #1, PET other #1, PP (polypropylene) containers #5, rigid plastics #3 to #7, steel cans, tires, paper, textiles, yard trimmings, and wood. Note that there are certain materials for which data are not available for every state. In these cases, the layer will only display ZIP codes where data are available.The map provides estimated U.S. recycling quantities, infrastructure, materials markets, and supporting market factors using the best available data at the time the map was developed (2021-2022). While data sources range from 2011 to 2021, most data are from 2018-2021. The map was created and by Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc), a consultancy supporting EPA to develop the Recycling Infrastructure and Market Opportunities Map. The map is managed by EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. This project was supported in part by an appointment to the Research Participation Program at the Office of Land and Emergency Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and EPA.

On America Recycles Day, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a National Recycling Goal to increase the U.S. recycling rate of materials generated in municipal solid waste (MSW) to 50 percent by 2030. To further this goal and support the building of new recycling infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), EPA developed a map displaying estimated generation of recyclable materials, estimated recycled quantities, existing recycling infrastructure, potential recycling end markets, and other MSW infrastructure such as landfills and transfer stations. The map can be used to identify infrastructure gaps, facilitate a needs analysis, and better understand where funding could be allocated to enhance markets. The bottle bill layer is sourced from the Container Recycling Institute’s Bottle Bill Resource Guide. For each state, EPA provides information on whether the state has a bottle bill, the deposit prices for aluminum, glass, and PET, and notes on the materials accepted. States that do not have bottle bills are grayed out in the layer. Landfill tipping fees are sourced from the annual Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) Analysis of MSW Landfill Tipping Fees 2020 report. A single tipping fee is reported for each state. Note that the information included in this map is a snapshot of landfill tipping fees in 2020, and tipping fees are expected to fluctuate over time. The map provides estimated U.S. recycling quantities, infrastructure, materials markets, and supporting market factors using the best available data at the time the map was developed (2021-2022). While data sources range from 2011 to 2021, the most data are from 2018-2021. Refer to the technical methodology document for the specific years of data used to create each data layer. The map was created by Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc), a consultancy supporting EPA to develop the Recycling Infrastructure and Market Opportunities Map. The map is managed by EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. This project was supported in part by an appointment to the Research Participation Program at the Office of Land and Emergency Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and EPA.

Recycling facilities continue to benefit from stabilization of macroeconomic conditions and higher commodity prices, which have resulted in higher demand for processed products such as plastic bottles and paper towels. Greater consumer activity and the return-to-office trend continued boosting commercial activity and generated larger quantities of waste that required input from recycling facilities. Online purchases require more cardboard to deliver, leading to a surge in waste generation for the industry's largest recyclable. Although higher commodity costs amid an inflationary spike, which peaked at 9.1% in 2022, created sharper price fluctuations for paper and plastic products, it also generated larger return rates for recycling facilities involved with recyclable goods sales directly to manufacturers. Revenue grew at a CAGR of 1.3% to an estimated $9.0 billion through the end of 2025, including an anticipated 0.5% boost in 2025 alone. Within a long-term paradigm, recycling facility output is growing alongside consumer spending and the packaging that it produces. Consumer spending drives demand for recycling services, as it generates wider economic activity that results in waste products such as plastic bottles and paperboard packages being used. Surging corporate profit is expanding demand for recycling and collection since strong business activity creates more waste and enables companies to invest in higher-priced, sustainable materials sold by recycling facilities. Despite education initiatives, many consumers are still sending nonrecyclable materials to recycling facilities, leading to growing wage expenditures as recycling companies are forced to sort through larger mixed waste quantities. These costs haven't been easily passed downstream, causing profit to tumble. Moving forward, recycling facilities will continue to benefit from steady demand and favorable regulatory trends at the state level. Acceleration in E-commerce sales, consumer spending and industrial production will maintain waste generation and a diversified demand stream for recycling facilities. The price of paper, which makes up over two-thirds of all recycled materials, is set to rise 1.2% over the next five years, boosting recycled paper demand as it becomes more price-competitive with external competitors. Statewide initiatives to adopt Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) will continue generating larger statewide demand for recycling facilities and a higher recycling rate, particularly as 11 new states already implemented legislation to adopt EPR in 2024. Mounting concerns regarding pollution and sustainability will keep pressure on companies to use recycled materials, with recycling facilities' revenue expected to grow at a CAGR of 1.2% to an estimated $9.6 billion over the next five years.

Click here to download these data in a file geodatabase. Log into ArcGIS Online to download data directly from this feature service. Create an ArcGIS Online account.On America Recycles Day, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a National Recycling Goal to increase the U.S. recycling rate of materials generated in municipal solid waste (MSW) to 50 percent by 2030. To further this goal and support the building of new recycling infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), EPA developed a map displaying estimated generation of recyclable materials, estimated recycled quantities, existing recycling infrastructure, potential recycling end markets, and other MSW infrastructure such as landfills and transfer stations. The map can be used to identify infrastructure gaps, facilitate a needs analysis, and better understand where funding could be allocated to enhance markets. This dataset provides locations of potential primary recycling end markets in the U.S. Potential primary end markets are defined as industries that can potentially use recycled material directly in production. The dataset includes end markets for 10 different materials: glass, food waste, paper, organics, leather, plastics, metals, rubber, textiles, and wood. The data provide facility name, facility address, phone, website, NAICS code, NAICS description, relevant material type(s), and whether they use multiple material types. The layer relies on data from D&B Hoovers 2021. To identify the industries associated with potential primary end markets, EPA relied on industry reports (e.g., IBISWorld) that define the potential primary end markets for recyclable materials. EPA identified the NAICS codes for relevant industries, categorized them by material type, and compiled the list of facilities associated with those NAICS codes from D&B Hoovers. Finally, EPA pulled information from D&B Hoovers for each facility and geocoded facilities using their addresses. The map provides estimated U.S. recycling quantities, infrastructure, materials markets, and supporting market factors using the best available data at the time the map was developed (2021-2022). While data sources range from 2011 to 2021, most data are from 2018-2021. The map was created and by Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc), a consultancy supporting EPA to develop the Recycling Infrastructure and Market Opportunities Map. The map is managed by EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management. This project was supported in part by an appointment to the Research Participation Program at the Office of Land and Emergency Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and EPA.

In 2022, ** percent of e-waste generated in the Americas was documented as formally collected and recycled. Nevertheless, rates varied significantly across the continent; while more than ** percent of e-waste was collected in North America (U.S. and Canada), in South America this figure stood below ***** percent. E-waste generation in the Americas amounted to **** million metric tons that year.

In 2021, around ** to ** percent of plastic waste in the United States was estimated to be sent to landfills. In comparison, the recycling rate of plastic waste in the country was estimated at between **** and *** percent in that year - a decrease compared with the recycling rate in 2018. Plastic waste exports (which counts towards recycling rates) were estimated to account for between *** and *** percent of waste management in 2021.