At a glance
Key U.S. recycling statistics
Recycling statistics are easy to repeat and easy to misstate. The national rate is not a universal score for every material, city, or collection program. The strongest sources name the material, management pathway, year, and scope. EPA's public data makes that level of precision possible, so the figures below are intentionally tied to the definitions behind them.
32.1% recycled or composted
EPA reports a 32.1% recycling and composting rate for U.S. municipal solid waste in 2018. EPA National Overview
69 million tons recycled
More than 69 million short tons of municipal solid waste were recycled in 2018.EPA National Overview
50% landfilled
EPA reports about 146 million short tons, or 50% of generated MSW, went to landfill in 2018. EPA National Overview
68.2% paper recycling rate
EPA reports 46 million tons of paper and paperboard recycled in 2018.EPA Paper and Paperboard Data
8.7% plastic recycling rate
EPA estimates about 3 million tons of plastic were recycled in 2018.EPA Plastics Data
$36.5B to $43.4B investment need
EPA's 2024 assessment estimates this range to improve selected recycling infrastructure by 2030. EPA Recycling Infrastructure Assessment
National picture
What is the U.S. recycling rate?
Direct answer: EPA reports that 32.1% of U.S. municipal solid waste was recycled or composted in 2018. That combined rate represents nearly 94 million short tons: more than 69 million tons recycled and nearly 25 million tons composted. The source is a national material-flow series, not a live count of all waste handled by every American recycling program.
EPA estimates that the United States generated 292.4 million short tons of municipal solid waste in 2018, equal to 4.9 pounds per person per day. The combined recycling and composting total is an important measure, but it is not the only management path. EPA reports nearly 35 million tons combusted with energy recovery and about 146 million tons, or 50% of generated MSW, landfilled that year. EPA National Overview
| Measure | Figure | Source year | What it describes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSW generated | 292.4 million short tons | 2018 | EPA's nationwide municipal-solid-waste material-flow estimate. |
| Recycled and composted | Nearly 94 million short tons, 32.1% | 2018 | Combined total, not recycling tonnage alone. |
| Recycled | More than 69 million short tons | 2018 | Material sent through recycling pathways in the EPA series. |
| Landfilled | About 146 million short tons, 50% | 2018 | Largest reported destination in the national MSW series. |
Source: EPA National Overview, 2018 municipal solid waste data.
The rate is often treated as a simple verdict on recycling, but the denominator matters. It is a share of EPA's estimated MSW generation. It does not mean that 32.1% of every product, every household bin, or every material category was recycled. A recycling rate can rise or fall because recovered tonnage changes, total generation changes, or both. A usable citation keeps the numerator, denominator, and year together.
EPA's long-run series also shows why percentage language needs context. The combined recycling and composting rate grew from 6% of generated MSW in 1960 to 32.1% in 2018, while the landfill share fell from 94% to 50%. That is a large shift in the mix of management pathways. It is not evidence that landfill disappeared, because landfill still handled about half of EPA-measured MSW in 2018. EPA National Overview
Material detail
Recycling statistics by material
Direct answer: The national recycling rate conceals wide differences across materials. In EPA's 2018 MSW data, paper and paperboard had a 68.2% recycling rate, plastics had an 8.7% recycling rate, and yard trimmings had a 63% composting or mulching recovery rate. Those numbers use different pathways and material definitions, so they should not be combined into a single ranking without explanation.
| Material | Generation | Recovery result | Source year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper and paperboard | 67.4 million tons | 46 million tons recycled, 68.2% rate | 2018 |
| Plastics | 35.7 million tons | About 3 million tons recycled, 8.7% rate | 2018 |
| Yard trimmings | 35.4 million tons | 22.3 million tons composted or mulched, 63% rate | 2018 |
Sources: EPA Paper and Paperboard Data, EPA Plastics Data, and EPA Yard Trimmings Data.
Paper and paperboard
Paper and paperboard was the largest material category in EPA's 2018 MSW generation data, at 67.4 million tons or 23.1% of the total. EPA reports that about 46 million tons were recycled for a 68.2% rate. The detail matters. Corrugated boxes had a 96.5% recycling rate, while paper containers and packaging excluding corrugated boxes had a 20.8% rate. A statement about “paper recycling” can be accurate yet hide a large difference between product types. EPA Paper and Paperboard Data
EPA also reports that landfills received 17.2 million tons of paper and paperboard in 2018. The material's high recycling rate therefore does not mean all paper is recovered. It means the national material-flow estimate reported substantial recovery alongside a significant remaining disposal stream. That distinction is useful when a story needs a practical measure of the potential material still moving through collection, sorting, disposal, and recycling systems.
Plastics
EPA estimates that plastics generated in municipal solid waste totaled 35.7 million tons in 2018, or 12.2% of MSW generation. It reports about 3 million tons recycled, an 8.7% recycling rate. The agency separately identifies PET bottles and jars at a 29.1% rate and HDPE natural bottles at a 29.3% rate. These product-specific figures should not be used as an all-plastics recycling rate. EPA Plastics Data
EPA reports 27 million tons of plastic sent to landfill in 2018. This is a clear example of why a material's share of recycling tonnage is not its recycling rate. In EPA's national overview, plastics made up 4.47% of the 2018 recycling tonnage. The 8.7% figure is a recycling rate calculated against plastic generation. Both can be correct, but they answer different questions.
Yard trimmings
Yard trimmings include grass, leaves, and tree or brush trimmings. EPA estimates 35.4 million tons were generated in MSW in 2018. It reports 22.3 million tons composted or recovered as wood mulch, a 63% composting rate. The agency notes that the estimate does not include backyard composting or some direct land application, which is a reminder that a national measure can leave out real local activity.EPA Yard Trimmings Data
Unlike paper and plastics, EPA describes the principal recovery pathway here as composting or mulching. That wording belongs in a citation. Calling the figure a generic “recycling rate” loses the material and pathway that make the data meaningful. In 2018, EPA also estimated 10.5 million tons of yard trimmings were landfilled and 2.6 million tons combusted with energy recovery. EPA Yard Trimmings Data
Food and organics
Food waste and organics recycling statistics
Direct answer: EPA estimates that 66 million tons of wasted food were generated across food retail, food service, and residential sectors in 2019, with about 60% sent to landfill. An additional 40 million tons were generated in food and beverage manufacturing and processing. These figures use a more detailed food methodology than the 2018 national MSW overview.
Food deserves a separate section because it illustrates how methodology changes what a statistic can represent. EPA's 2019 food estimate covers food retail, food service, residential sources, and a separate manufacturing and processing stream. It reports that 42.6% of the manufacturing and processing total was managed by anaerobic digestion. The scope is different from simply looking at food in the broader 2018 MSW composition table, so the two results should not be placed side by side as though they were identical measures. EPA Food Data
EPA reports 3,304,764 tons, or 4.99%, of the 2019 wasted-food total in its food material table was managed through composting. The agency says it revised its methodology to capture a fuller set of excess-food flows and management pathways. The change makes the data more detailed, but it also means a writer should use the source year and source scope rather than substituting an older food-waste headline for the newer measure. EPA Food Data
For recycling infrastructure, organics include food and yard waste alongside packaging materials. EPA's 2024 infrastructure assessment identifies composting, anaerobic digestion, and livestock infrastructure as parts of the system it evaluates. That is a useful connection between material statistics and the facilities, equipment, operations, and jobs required to manage those materials. EPA Recycling Infrastructure Assessment
System capacity
U.S. recycling infrastructure statistics
Direct answer: EPA's 2024 assessment estimates that $36.5 billion to $43.4 billion in investment would be needed by 2030 to improve U.S. curbside collection, drop-off, and processing infrastructure for commonly recycled packaging and organic materials. The estimate is a potential investment range, not a count of funds already committed or facilities already built.
The assessment covers ferrous metal cans, nonferrous metal beverage containers, aluminum foil, paper, cardboard and boxboard, glass, plastics numbered 1 and 2, food, and yard waste. EPA says these commonly recycled materials make up about 82% of the municipal solid waste stream and have established end markets and recycling technologies. That scope is important because the $36.5 billion to $43.4 billion range does not describe every possible waste material or every waste-management need.EPA Recycling Infrastructure Assessment
| Assessment measure | EPA result | Scope reminder |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated investment needed | $36.5B to $43.4B | Potential investment by 2030 for selected recycling infrastructure. |
| Potential added recovery | 82 to 89 million tons | EPA scenario for packaging and organic waste recovery. |
| Potential national rate | 32% to 61% | Potential result in the assessment, not a current observed rate. |
| States tracking program capture rates | 15% | EPA survey finding for states and territories. |
Source: EPA Recycling Infrastructure Assessment and Needs Survey.
EPA estimates that this investment could recover an additional 82 to 89 million tons of packaging and organic waste. The agency describes that as a 91% increase over the 94 million tons recycled and composted in its 2018 Facts and Figures report, with the potential to move the national rate from 32% to 61%. This is modeled scenario language. It should not be reported as a forecast that will occur automatically or as a current rate. EPA Recycling Infrastructure Assessment
The measurement gap is part of the story. EPA reports that only 15% of states and territories collect data on community recycling-program capture rates. About half measure an overall recycling rate, with an average estimate of roughly 30%. These results help explain why state and local recycling numbers are not always directly comparable. The system is made up of programs that measure different things with different levels of detail. EPA Recycling Infrastructure Assessment
EPA's assessment was based on a review of 125 documents and approximately 20 interviews with internal and external recycling subject matter experts. It is therefore more than a generic spending claim. It is still an assessment with a defined material scope and methodology, so a careful citation keeps the agency, publication year, investment range, and 2030 horizon in the same sentence.
Economic context
Recycling economy and jobs statistics
Direct answer: EPA's 2020 Recycling Economic Information report, using 2012 base-year data, estimates that recycling and reuse activities supported 681,000 jobs, $37.8 billion in wages, and $5.5 billion in tax revenue. The model spans direct and upstream activity across nine material sectors, so it is not a count of workers at recycling facilities alone.
The report covers ferrous metals, nonferrous metals such as aluminum, glass, paper, plastics, rubber, construction and demolition materials, electronics, and organics. That breadth is why its employment estimate is much larger than any one occupation count. It measures material recovery and transformation activity across a supply chain, not one job title or one stage of collection. EPA Recycling Economic Information Report
The publication date and base year must stay together. EPA published the REI report in 2020, but its modeled activity uses 2012 data because the study relies on a detailed waste input-output approach. The result is valuable evidence about the economic scope the model estimated for that year. It is not evidence that the exact 681,000-job total is the current workforce size in 2026.
The connection to a job board is practical, not promotional. Material flows need collection, dispatch, drivers, equipment operators, mechanics, sorters, maintenance, buyers, compliance teams, facility staff, and logistics workers. The EPA model does not tell a candidate how many live openings exist in a city. It shows why recycling should be understood as a connected economic system rather than a bin at the curb.
Explore the work
Find current jobs across recycling, collection, and operations.
Move from national material data to live waste and recycling openings.
Data literacy
How to read and cite recycling statistics
Direct answer: Before citing a recycling statistic, name the material or waste stream, the management pathway, the geography, the source year, and the denominator. A percentage can be completely accurate and still be the wrong figure for the sentence if it describes a different material or pathway than the claim.
Start with the noun. EPA's 32.1% figure is for municipal solid waste recycled or composted. It is not a rate for all U.S. waste, all materials placed in curbside bins, or the recycling program in one state. EPA uses a materials-flow method at the national level, drawing on industrial associations, businesses, government sources, waste characterizations, and surveys. That method supports a national estimate, not a count of every individual container. EPA Materials Methodology
Then identify the denominator. The 8.7% plastic recycling rate is the amount of plastic EPA estimated recycled divided by estimated plastic generation. The 4.47% plastics figure in the national recycling composition chart is plastics' share of total recycling tonnage. The first asks how much plastic was recycled relative to plastic generation. The second asks how much of all recycled material was plastic. They are not competing estimates.
Keep date labels close to the number. EPA's 2018 national MSW series remains the latest complete series on its Facts and Figures site. EPA's infrastructure assessment was published in 2024, while its investment range looks ahead to 2030. EPA's recycling economic model uses a 2012 base year. Reporting all three as “2026 recycling statistics” without the source years would create false precision.
Three citation-ready sentence patterns
- National rate: “EPA reported that 32.1% of U.S. municipal solid waste was recycled or composted in 2018.”
- Material: “EPA estimated 46 million tons of paper and paperboard were recycled in 2018, a 68.2% recycling rate.”
- Infrastructure: “EPA's 2024 assessment estimated $36.5 billion to $43.4 billion in investment would be needed by 2030 to improve selected U.S. recycling infrastructure.”
Each pattern identifies the agency, measure, and time frame. That small amount of context makes the statistic easier to verify and much harder to misuse. It is also the useful service a reference page can provide to writers, researchers, and anyone trying to understand what a recycling headline actually measures.
Methodology
Methodology and primary sources
This page curates official U.S. data rather than creating an unpublished recycling estimate. It uses EPA's national and material-specific Facts and Figures pages for observed material-flow data, EPA's infrastructure assessment for its stated 2024 investment scenarios, and EPA's REI report for its 2012 economic model. All important claims link directly to the primary source.
- National MSW figures: EPA National Overview, 2018 data.
- Material results: EPA paper, plastics, food, and yard trimmings material-specific pages.
- Infrastructure: EPA's 2024 Recycling Infrastructure Assessment and Needs Survey, including its 2030 scenarios.
- Economic context: EPA's 2020 REI report with a 2012 modeled base year.
- Limits: National figures should not be substituted for local program results, live facility capacity, or a current job count.
Primary sources used on this page
National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling
2018 national municipal-solid-waste generation, recycling, composting, energy recovery, landfill, and material-composition data. EPA National Overview
Paper and Paperboard: Material-Specific Data
2018 paper and paperboard generation, recycling rate, product detail, and landfill data. EPA Paper and Paperboard Data
Plastics: Material-Specific Data
2018 plastics generation, recycling, product-specific rates, and landfill data. EPA Plastics Data
Food: Material-Specific Data
2019 food-waste generation and management data with the agency's expanded food methodology. EPA Food Data
Yard Trimmings: Material-Specific Data
2018 yard-trimmings generation, composting or mulching, energy recovery, and landfill data. EPA Yard Trimmings Data
U.S. Recycling Infrastructure Assessment and State Data Collection Reports
2024 recycling infrastructure assessment, state measurement results, and 2030 investment scenarios. EPA Recycling Infrastructure Assessment
Recycling Economic Information (REI) Report
2012 base-year model of recycling and reuse jobs, wages, tax revenue, and nine material sectors. EPA Recycling Economic Information Report
FAQ
Recycling statistics FAQ
What is the U.S. recycling rate?
EPA reports that 32.1% of U.S. municipal solid waste was recycled or composted in 2018. That is nearly 94 million short tons, including about 69 million tons recycled and 25 million tons composted. It is the latest national EPA municipal-solid-waste series and should be cited as a 2018 rate, not as a real-time figure.
How much waste is recycled in the United States?
EPA reports more than 69 million short tons of municipal solid waste were recycled in 2018. Paper and paperboard made up about two-thirds of that recycling tonnage. The 69 million ton figure excludes composting, which is why it differs from the nearly 94 million tons in EPA’s combined recycling and composting measure.
What material has the highest recycling rate?
In EPA’s 2018 municipal-solid-waste material data, paper and paperboard had a 68.2% recycling rate, or about 46 million tons. Yard trimmings had a 63% composting or mulching recovery rate. The categories use different recovery pathways, so a reader should name the material and measure rather than treating them as interchangeable rankings.
How much plastic is recycled in the United States?
EPA reports 35.7 million tons of plastics generated in municipal solid waste in 2018, with about 3 million tons recycled for an 8.7% recycling rate. The figure is specific to EPA’s municipal-solid-waste material methodology and does not describe every plastic flow in the economy.
How much investment does U.S. recycling infrastructure need?
EPA’s 2024 infrastructure assessment estimates that $36.5 billion to $43.4 billion would be needed by 2030 to improve U.S. curbside collection, drop-off, and processing infrastructure for commonly recycled packaging and organic materials. It is a modeled investment range, not spending already approved or completed.
For workforce and safety data across the wider system, see our U.S. Waste & Recycling Statistics hub and Garbage Truck Driver Statistics.