What a Waste is a global project to aggregate data on solid waste management from around the world. This database features the statistics collected through the effort, covering nearly all countries and over 330 cities. The metrics included cover all steps from the waste management value chain, including waste generation, composition, collection, and disposal, as well as information on user fees and financing, the informal sector, administrative structures, public communication, and legal information. The information presented is the best available based on a study of current literature and limited conversations with waste agencies and authorities. While there may be variations in the definitions and quality of reporting for individual data points, general trends should reflect the global reality. All sources and any estimations are noted.

The generation of municipal solid waste in the United States has increased significantly over the past 60 years. In 1960, the North American country produced approximately 88 million tons of MSW, and by 2018 that figure had more than tripled, amounting to 292 million tons. What is municipal solid waste? Municipal solid waste (MSW) is residue consisting of everyday items such as paper and paperboard, food, metals, glass, wood, and plastics. Of the largest municipal solid waste producers worldwide the United States ranks first. Solid waste generation per capita in the U.S amounts to approximately 4.9 pounds per day, which is almost twice the volume generated per capita in 1960. Hazardous waste In 2018, more than 146 million tons of U.S. MSW ended up in landfill sites. This includes electronic products such as TVs and phones, which are categorized as e-waste. E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world and an increasing environmental problem. E-waste can cause hazardous environmental pollution, as certain products contain toxic substances that can contaminate the surrounding air, soil, and water. As of 2024, there were more than 1,300 hazardous waste sites in the U.S., with New Jersey concentrating the largest number of sites.

Introduction

E-waste Statistics: The rapid increase in electronic waste (e-waste) generation has made it one of the fastest-growing waste streams globally. With constant technological advancements, millions of tons of e-waste, such as old smartphones, computers, and household appliances, are discarded every year.

This rise in e-waste is fueled by the rapid obsolescence of electronic devices and the growing demand for newer models. E-waste poses serious environmental and health threats due to the presence of hazardous substances like lead, mercury, and cadmium. However, it also offers opportunities for recycling, resource recovery, and sustainable waste management.

Governments, industries, and consumers are increasingly aware of the need for effective strategies to tackle these challenges and harness the valuable materials within discarded electronics.

Electronic waste generation worldwide stood at roughly 62 million metric tons in 2022. Several factors, such as increased spending power, and the availability of electronics, has fueled e-waste generation in recent decades, making it the fastest growing waste stream worldwide. This trend is expected to continue, with annual e-waste generation forecast at 82 million metric tons in 2030.

How much e-waste do people produce?

Globally, e-waste generation per capita averaged 7.8 kilograms in 2022. However, this differs greatly depending on the region. While Asia produces the most e-waste worldwide in volume, Europe and Oceania were the regions with the highest e-waste generation per capita, at 17.6 and 16.1 kilograms respectively.

E-waste disposal

In 2022, the share of e-waste formally collected and recycled worldwide stood at 22.3 percent. Meanwhile, around 48 million metric tons are estimated to have been collected informally, with 29 percent of this value being disposed as residual waste, most likely ending up in landfills. Due to the hazardous materials that are often used in electronics, improper e-waste disposal is a growing environmental concern worldwide.

Presence of various types of household electronic waste (eWaste) and disposal methods used in previous 12 months.

This dataset provided by SPREP contains per capita generation of municipal solid waste for 21 Pacific islands countries and territories.

Find more Pacific data on PDH.stat.

This release contains statistics on waste produced at a UK level. The topics covered in this publication are: •Waste from Households – 2010-16. UK and country breakdown. •BMW (Biodegradable Municipal Waste) to landfill – 2010-16. UK and country breakdown. •WStatR (Waste Statistics Regulation) generation breakdown – 2012 & 2014. UK and England breakdown but not DAs. •WStatR treatment breakdown – 2012 & 2014. UK and England breakdown but not DAs. •WStatR infrastructure breakdown - 2014. UK and England breakdown but not DAs. •C&I (Commercial and Industrial) waste generation – UK 2010, 2012 & 2014, England 2010 - 2016. UK and England breakdown but not DAs. •C&D (Construction and Demolition) recovery – 2010-15. UK and England breakdown but not DAs. •Packaging waste recycling and recovery – 2016. UK only.

UK figures are compiled to comply with reporting requirements against the EC Waste Framework Directive, EC Waste Statistics Regulation, EC Landfill Directive and EC Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive.

If you require the datasets in a more accessible format, please contact Waste Statistics (RAS) at WasteStatistics@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Materials diverted by type and by source (residential and non-residential) for Canada, provinces and territories every two years. The unit of measure is tonnes.

Information compiled by the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

China and India, the world's most populous countries in the world, were some of the largest producers of food waste, with an estimated *** million and ** million metric tons in 2022, respectively. It is estimated that per capita food waste production is highest in Western Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Sources of food waste The global population produced approximately *********** metric tons of food waste in 2022. This represented roughly ** percent of total food made available. Household food waste was the main source of food waste that year, accounting for ** percent of the total. The second main source of food waste was the foodservice sector. Why is food waste such a problem? Food waste has many societal impacts. It not only costs the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars every year and depletes resources, but it also harms the environment and contributes to the climate crisis. When food waste is dumped at landfill sites it rots and produces large volumes of methane – a potent greenhouse gas. Food waste accounts for an estimated **** percent of global food system greenhouse gas emissions, which in 2015 totaled **** billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent.

Three resources are available on this record for 2020:

• an excel data extract of wastes received at permitted sites
• and excel data extract of waste removed from permitted sites
• summary tables for England and the former planning regions (in open document spreadsheet format)

We no longer publish the Waste Data Interrogator in MS Access.

All operators of regulated waste management facilities have to provide us with details of the quantities and types of waste they deal with i.e. waste received into site and waste sent on from site to other facilities or processes. This data is used to monitor compliance but has historically been used by the EC, DEFRA and local authorities to assist in planning for new waste facilities and for monitoring against statutory targets. We have provided this data in an interrogatable format since 2006. The dataset is calendar year and holds the data from around 6,000 regulated sites. Operator waste returns are public register information unless a claim for commercial confidentiality has been accepted. In these cases the data is provided but the site details are not. This is so that the data can be included in aggregated figures but cannot be attributed to a particular site. Data supplied does not include details of waste producers

INFORMATION WARNING Details of operators who have claimed commercial confidentiality are not provided

WDI Versions All files original (Version 1) - published 30/09/2021 Wastes Removed (Version 2) - published 12/10/21 - correction of reversal of eastings and northings data columns. Wastes Received (Version 4) - published 01/02/2022 - various changes Wastes Removed (Version 4) - published 01/02/2022 - various changes Wastes Received (Version 5) - published 16/05/23 - changes to a high public interest site in East Midlands whose returns had been double counted Wastes Removed (Version 5) - published 16/05/23 - changes to a high public interest site in East Midlands whose returns had been double counted Wastes Received (Version 6) - published 13/05/24 - corrections to some London origins and destinations Wastes Removed (Version 6) - published 13/05/24 - corrections to some London origins and destinations

Waste Management Tables: Original (Version 1) - published 30/09/2021 Version 2 - published 01/02/2022

Annual quantity of total solid waste disposed of at landfills by waste category, including (i) municipal solid waste, (ii) overall construction waste and (iii) special waste from 2009 to 2023

SPU Solid Waste Tons and Trips provides daily collection tonnages from the residential sector that are collected by contracted haulers. The data provides a full accounting of residential garbage, recycling, organics curbside collections. Commercial, self-haul and C&D are not included. Data from private transfer stations is not included. For more information see https://www.seattle.gov/utilities/about/plans/solid-waste/about-solid-waste.

Three resources are available on this record for 2022: an excel data extract of wastes received at permitted sites an excel data extract of waste removed from permitted sites summary tables for England and the former planning regions (in open document spreadsheet format) We no longer publish the Waste Data Interrogator in MS Access. All operators of regulated waste management facilities have to provide us with details of the quantities and types of waste they deal with i.e. waste received into site and waste sent on from site to other facilities or processes. This data is used to monitor compliance but has historically been used by DEFRA and local authorities to assist in planning for new waste facilities and for monitoring against statutory targets. We have provided this data in an interrogatable format since 2006. The dataset is calendar year and holds the data from around 6,000 regulated sites. Operator waste returns are public register information unless a claim for commercial confidentiality has been accepted. In these cases the data is provided but the site details are not. This is so that the data can be included in aggregated figures but cannot be attributed to a particular site. Data supplied does not include details of waste producers INFORMATION WARNING Details of operators who have claimed commercial confidentiality are not provided VERSIONS All original files published 05/09/2022 Updated Summary Tables to correct some landfill capacity errors 26/03/2024 Wastes Received (Version 3) - 13/05/24 corrections to some London origins and destinations Wastes Removed (Version 3) - 13/05/24 corrections to some London origins and destinations Wastes Received (Version 4) - 12/07/24 corrections to some site returns Wastes Removed (Version 4) - 12/07/24 corrections to some site returns Updated Summary Tables to correct site returns - 12/07/24 Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2024. All rights reserved.

EU Waste Statistics Regulation (EC 2150/2002), including disposal, incineration, management summary, recycling, generation by sector and generation by waste type

On the basis of the Regulation on waste statistics (EC) No. 2150/2002, amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No. 849/2010, data on the generation and treatment of waste is collected from the Member States. The information on waste generation has a breakdown in sources (19 business activities according to the NACE classification and household activities) and in waste categories (according to the European Waste Classification for statistical purposes). The information on waste treatment is broken down to five treatment types (recovery, incineration with energy recovery, other incineration, disposal on land and land treatment) and in waste categories.

All values are measured in tonnes of waste and in kg per capita, based on the annual average of the population.

The Member States are free to decide on the data collection methods. The general options are: surveys, administrative sources, statistical estimations or some combination of methods.

For the first reference year 2004 Member States could apply for permission not to deliver part of the information: waste generated by agriculture and fishing and waste generated in the services sector. For this reason this information is missing for some of the countries.

This report concerns Local Authority Collected Municipal and Household waste management for all 26 District Councils in Northern Ireland in the annual reporting year. Source agency: Environment (Northern Ireland) Designation: Official Statistics not designated as National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Northern Ireland Local Authority Collected Municipal Waste Management Statistics