Topic: Recycling in the United States

Recycling in the United States - Statistics & Facts

The U.S. recycling system faces many challenges. There is no federal law that mandates recycling in the country. Therefore, recycling legislation is localized through city or state governments, which are responsible for the management of waste and can create recycling goals or landfill bans of recyclable materials. With almost 10 percent of the population lacking access to recycling services, the U.S. has some of the lowest municipal waste recycling rates worldwide.

MSW generation
292m t

MSW recycling rate
32.1%

Share of population with access to curbside recycling programs
****%

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Current statistics on this topic

Recycling & Recovery

Global municipal waste recycling rate 2022, by select country

Recycling & Recovery

Municipal solid waste recycling rate in the United States 1980-2018

Waste Management

Volume of plastic municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 2018, by type

Overview

Global municipal waste recovery rates 2010-2021, by select country
Global municipal waste recovery rates 2010-2021, by select country
Municipal solid waste material recovery rates in selected countries worldwide in 2010 and 2021
Global municipal waste recycling rate 2022, by select country
Global municipal waste recycling rate 2022, by select country
Municipal solid waste recycling rates in selected countries worldwide as of 2022
Municipal solid waste generation in the U.S. 1960-2018
Municipal solid waste generation in the U.S. 1960-2018
Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in the United States from 1960 to 2018 (in million tons)
Municipal solid waste generation in the U.S. 1960-2018, by material
Municipal solid waste generation in the U.S. 1960-2018, by material
Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in the United States from 1960 to 2018, by material (in 1,000 tons)
Share of residents with access to recycling services in the U.S. 2021, by type
Share of residents with access to recycling services in the U.S. 2021, by type
Share of population with access to recycling programs in the United States in 2021, by type

Trade

Scrap plastic exports from the U.S. 2015-2023
Scrap plastic exports from the U.S. 2015-2023
Exports of scrap plastic from the United States from 2015 to 2023 (in billion pounds)
Plastic waste exports from the U.S. 2024, by destination
Plastic waste exports from the U.S. 2024, by destination
Leading destinations for plastic scrap exports from the United States in 2024, by country (in 1,000 metric tons)
Exports of recovered scrap paper from the U.S. 2015-2023
Exports of recovered scrap paper from the U.S. 2015-2023
Exports of recovered waste and scrap paper and paperboard fibers from the United States from 2015 to 2023 (in million tons)
Exports of recovered scrap paper from the U.S. 2023, by main destination
Exports of recovered scrap paper from the U.S. 2023, by main destination
Leading destinations for recovered waste and scrap paper exports from the United States in 2023 (in 1,000 metric tons)

Recycling volume

Per capita municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018
Per capita municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018
Daily municipal solid waste (MSW) recycled per capita in the United States from 1960 to 2018 (in pounds)
Municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018
Municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018
Municipal solid waste (MSW) recycled in the United States from 1960 to 2018 (in million tons)
Municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018, by material
Municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018, by material
Municipal solid waste (MSW) recycled in the United States from 1960 to 2018, by material (in 1,000 tons)
Paper and paperboard recycled in the U.S. 1990-2023
Paper and paperboard recycled in the U.S. 1990-2023
Paper and paperboard recycled in the United States from 1990 to 2023 (in million tons)
Cardboard recycled in the U.S. 2001-2022
Cardboard recycled in the U.S. 2001-2022
Carboard recycled in the United States from 2001 to 2022 (in million tons)
Recycled scrap metals in the U.S. 2021, by type
Recycled scrap metals in the U.S. 2021, by type
Selected metals recycled from scrap in the United States in 2021, by type (in 1,000 metric tons)
Post-consumer plastic recovered for recycling in the United States 2021, by type
Post-consumer plastic recovered for recycling in the United States 2021, by type
Post-consumer plastic material recovered for recycling in the United States in 2021, by type (in million pounds)
Plastic packaging municipal waste recycled in the U.S. 1980-2018
Plastic packaging municipal waste recycled in the U.S. 1980-2018
Plastic containers and packaging municipal solid waste (MSW) recycled in the United States from 1980 to 2018 (in 1,000 tons)

Recycling rates

Municipal solid waste recycling rate in the United States 1980-2018
Municipal solid waste recycling rate in the United States 1980-2018
Municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling rate in the United States from 1980 to 2018
Municipal solid waste recycling rate in the U.S. 2018, by product
Municipal solid waste recycling rate in the U.S. 2018, by product
Recycling and composting rate of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the United States in 2018, by product
Paper recycling rate in the United States 1990-2023
Paper recycling rate in the United States 1990-2023
Annual paper recycling rate in the United States from 1990 to 2023
Cardboard recycling rate in the United States 2000-2022
Cardboard recycling rate in the United States 2000-2022
Annual carboard recycling rate in the United States from 2000 to 2022
Recycling rate of metals in the U.S. 2021, by type
Recycling rate of metals in the U.S. 2021, by type
Recycling rates of selected metals in the United States in 2021, by type
Share of plastic items accepted by material recycling facilities in the U.S. 2022
Share of plastic items accepted by material recycling facilities in the U.S. 2022
Share of plastic waste accepted by material recycling facilities (MRF) and access to municipal collection in the United States in 2022, by product
Plastic municipal solid waste recycling rate in the U.S. 1960-2018
Plastic municipal solid waste recycling rate in the U.S. 1960-2018
Recycling rate of plastic municipal solid waste (MSW) in the United States from 1960 to 2018

Companies

Leading waste management companies in the U.S. 2025, by revenue
Leading waste management companies in the U.S. 2025, by revenue
Revenue of leading waste management companies in the United States as of 2025 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Waste Management Inc's recycling revenue 2013-2024
Waste Management Inc's recycling revenue 2013-2024
Operating revenue of Waste Management Inc's recycling services from 2013 to 2024 (in million U.S. dollars)
Waste Management Inc's material recovery 2023, by type
Waste Management Inc's material recovery 2023, by type
Materials recovered for recycling by Waste Management Inc in 2023, by type (in 1,000 tons)
Waste Connections recycling revenue 2015-2024
Waste Connections recycling revenue 2015-2024
Recycling revenue of Waste Connections, Inc. from FY 2015 to FY 2024 (in million U.S. dollars)
Republic Services recycling processing and commodity sales segment revenue 2016-2023
Republic Services recycling processing and commodity sales segment revenue 2016-2023
Revenue of Republic Services, Inc's recycling processing and commodity sales segment from FY 2016 to FY 2023 (in million U.S. dollars)
U.S. sourced post-consumer plastic purchased by North American reclaimers 2021
U.S. sourced post-consumer plastic purchased by North American reclaimers 2021
Share of U.S. sourced post-consumer plastic acquired by North American reclaimers in 2021, by category (in million pounds)

MSW generation
292m t

MSW recycling rate
32.1%

Share of population with access to curbside recycling programs
****%

Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "Recycling in the United States" and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

- Recycled municipal waste
- 69m t
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Detailed statistics
Municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018
- MSW recycled per capita
- *****lb/day
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Detailed statistics
Per capita municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018
- Most recycled MSW material
- Paper and paperboard
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Detailed statistics
Municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018, by material

- Paper recycling rate
- 65-69%
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Detailed statistics
Paper recycling rate in the United States 1990-2023
- Plastic MSW recycling rate
- ***%
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Detailed statistics
Plastic municipal solid waste recycling rate in the U.S. 1960-2018
- Aluminum recycling rate
- **%
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Detailed statistics
Recycling rate of metals in the U.S. 2021, by type

- Leading U.S. waste management company
- Waste Management, Inc.
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Detailed statistics
Leading waste management companies in the U.S. 2025, by revenue
- Waste Management, Inc. recycling revenue
- 1.9bn USD
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Detailed statistics
Waste Management Inc's recycling revenue 2013-2024
- Waste Connections recycling revenue
- ***m USD
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Detailed statistics
Waste Connections recycling revenue 2015-2024

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Recycling in the United States - Statistics & Facts

Key insights