Municipal waste recycled in Canada

Canada: Municipal waste recycled was 6.75 million tonnes in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
6.75 million tonnes
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
9th
of 86 countries
All-time high
6.75 million tonnes
in 2020
All-time low
5.16 million tonnes
in 2000
Years of data
11
2000–2020

Municipal waste recycled in Canada, 2000–2020

02.0M4.0M6.0M2000201020202000: 5.2M tonnes2002: 5.3M tonnes2004: 5.6M tonnes2006: 5.7M tonnes2008: 6.0M tonnes2010: 5.9M tonnes2012: 6.0M tonnes2014: 6.4M tonnes2016: 6.7M tonnes2018: 6.7M tonnes2020: 6.8M tonnes

Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

The most recent figure for municipal waste recycled in Canada is 6.75 million tonnes, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 14.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Canada peaked at 6.75 million tonnes in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.16 million tonnes, in 2000.

That places Canada 9th out of 86 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 5.56 million tonnes 5.16 million tonnes 5.98 million tonnes 5
2010s 6.33 million tonnes 5.88 million tonnes 6.68 million tonnes 5
2020s 6.75 million tonnes 6.75 million tonnes 6.75 million tonnes 1

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 6 Spain 8.61 million tonnes compare
  2. 7 Japan 8.04 million tonnes compare
  3. 8 United Kingdom 7.74 million tonnes compare
  4. 10 Poland 5.49 million tonnes compare
  5. 11 Netherlands 4.82 million tonnes compare
  6. 12 Austria 4.54 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 86 places →

More environment data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is municipal waste recycled in Canada?
Municipal waste recycled in Canada was 6.75 million tonnes in 2020, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 6.75 million tonnes in 2020.
What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 5.16 million tonnes in 2000.
How does Canada rank for municipal waste recycled?
Canada ranks 9th out of 86 countries with data for 2020.
Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Municipal waste recycled
Unit
tonnes
Source
United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
86 places, 1,389 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed

Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes)