Municipal waste recycled in Canada
Canada: Municipal waste recycled was 6.75 million tonnes in 2020. ▲ Rising
Municipal waste recycled in Canada, 2000–2020
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 11th out of 90 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycled in Canada, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.16 million tonnes | — |
| 2002 | 5.33 million tonnes | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 5.59 million tonnes | +4.9% |
| 2006 | 5.72 million tonnes | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 5.98 million tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 5.88 million tonnes | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 6.01 million tonnes | +2.2% |
| 2014 | 6.39 million tonnes | +6.3% |
| 2016 | 6.68 million tonnes | +4.6% |
| 2018 | 6.67 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 6.75 million tonnes | +1.2% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 6.75 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 7.1× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More environment data for Canada
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.76 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.642 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.96 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.3398 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
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 11th out of 90 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
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).