Municipal waste recycled in Japan
Japan: Municipal waste recycled was 8.04 million tonnes in 2021. ▼ Falling
Latest (2021)
8.04 million tonnes
Change on year
down 1.4%
World rank
9th
of 90 countries
All-time high
10.30 million tonnes
in 2007
All-time low
7.86 million tonnes
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2021
Municipal waste recycled in Japan, 2000–2021
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 Japan is 8.04 million tonnes, measured in 2021.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and down 12.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Japan peaked at 10.30 million tonnes in 2007 and was at its lowest, 7.86 million tonnes, in 2000.
Japan ranks 9th of 90 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycled in Japan, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.86 million tonnes | — |
| 2001 | 8.25 million tonnes | +4.9% |
| 2002 | 8.64 million tonnes | +4.7% |
| 2003 | 9.16 million tonnes | +6.0% |
| 2004 | 9.40 million tonnes | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 10.03 million tonnes | +6.7% |
| 2006 | 10.20 million tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 10.30 million tonnes | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 9.78 million tonnes | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 9.50 million tonnes | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 9.45 million tonnes | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 9.16 million tonnes | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 9.13 million tonnes | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 9.12 million tonnes | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 8.97 million tonnes | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 8.84 million tonnes | -1.4% |
| 2016 | 8.62 million tonnes | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 8.49 million tonnes | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 8.36 million tonnes | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 8.24 million tonnes | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 8.15 million tonnes | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 8.04 million tonnes | -1.4% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 8.04 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 8.5× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Japan's 8.04 million tonnes is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.09 million tonnes, 2.6× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.31 million tonnes | 7.86 million tonnes | 10.30 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.84 million tonnes | 8.24 million tonnes | 9.45 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.10 million tonnes | 8.04 million tonnes | 8.15 million tonnes | 2 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More environment data for Japan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.8 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.358 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.86 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -2.8 % 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 -0.4957 % 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 Japan?
- Municipal waste recycled in Japan was 8.04 million tonnes in 2021, 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 10.30 million tonnes in 2007.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.86 million tonnes in 2000.
- How does Japan rank for municipal waste recycled?
- Japan ranks 9th out of 90 countries with data for 2021.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan 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 — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).