What’s the State of Recycling in the U.S.? (2024)

FAQs

What’s the State of Recycling in the U.S.? ›

Among the key findings of the report: Every material type is under-recycled: seven out of ten cardboard boxes, three out of four milk jugs, four out of five steel cans, three out of four tons of mixed paper, and seven out of ten glass, aluminum cans, and PET bottles are lost to trash in homes.

The recycling rate has increased from less than seven percent in 1960 to the current rate of 32 percent. Help us reach our current National Recycling Goal to increase the U.S. recycling rate to 50 percent by 2030.

However, the vast majority of plastics don't get collected for recycling and are thrown away instead. That is where the 5-9% statistics come from. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that about 9% of all plastic waste was successfully recycled in 2018.

The U.S. ranks quite low when compared to the rest of the world in recycling percentage. Of the major countries that track recycling data, the United States is ranked number 25 out of 32. This ranking is determined by the total amount of waste each country recycles.

The US, quite simply, is lagging behind. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 75 percent of the US waste stream can be recycled or composted, but we're only doing so for just over 34 percent of it.

Why recycling isn't working in the U.S. Many recyclables become contaminated when items are placed in the wrong bin, or when a dirty food container gets into the recycling bin. Contamination can prevent large batches of material from being recycled. Other materials can't be processed in certain facilities.

10, 2024 – Identifying significant, but fixable gaps in the U.S. residential recycling system, a new report from The Recycling Partnership (“The Partnership”), a non-governmental organization committed to building a better recycling system, finds that only 21% of residential recyclables are being recycled.

Recycling can also have negative environmental impacts. For example, the process of recycling paper requires the use of chemicals and large amounts of water and energy. Similarly, recycling plastic can release harmful pollutants into the air and water.

Inconvenience and a lack of access to recycling are two of the most prevalent reasons why people don't recycle. There is no federal oversight on recycling programs, which means that one town might be flush with recycling opportunities and another not at all.

The 10 states with the lowest recycling rates (excluding FFP) in 2021 include: West Virginia (2%); Louisiana (4%); Tennessee (5%); Alaska (6%); South Carolina (6%); Mississippi (6%); Oklahoma (8%); Alabama (8%); Texas (8%); and Colorado (11%).

Which country is leading in recycling? ›

Germany has had the highest recycling rate in the world since 2016, with 56.1% of all waste being recycled.

Germany currently leads the world race in recycling municipal solid waste with a whopping 68 percent recycling rate, and countries like Austria, South Korea, Wales, and Switzerland round out the top 5. As of 2019, the United States has yet to touch the top 10 recycling countries list.

The study ranked each state according to its recycling rate for CCPMs in 2018, with the 10 states with the best recycling rates comprising: Maine (72%); Vermont (62%); Massachusetts (55%); Oregon (55%); Connecticut (52%); New York (51%); Minnesota (49%); Michigan (48%); New Jersey (46%); and Iowa (44%).

Processing: The materials are transported by the collector to a processing facility, such as a materials recovery facility or paper processor. At the processing facility, the recyclables are sorted, cleaned of contaminants, and prepared for transport to a milling facility or directly to a manufacturing facility.

Los Angeles, California

In 2021, Los Angeles achieved a landfill diversion rate of 76.4%, falling just behind San Francisco. Estimates suggest that the city's recycling industry generates up to $1.2 billion in direct economic benefits.

The future of recycling lies in the shift towards sustainable and circular economies. There is a growing emphasis on reducing waste and maximizing resource recovery. This involves integrating recycling into product design and lifecycle, enabling materials to be reused or recycled at the end of their lifespan.

Our recyclables are sent to a Material Recovery Facility. Once there, they are unloaded onto a conveyor belt where employees remove non-recyclable items. Using gravity, the paper moves up on the conveyor while other material moves down. Magnets separate most of the metals.