Municipal waste recycled in United States
United States: Municipal waste recycled was 62.68 million tonnes in 2018. ▲ Rising
Municipal waste recycled in United States, 2000–2018
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 United States is 62.68 million tonnes, measured in 2018. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
The figure is up 3.1% on the previous year and up 11.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in United States peaked at 62.68 million tonnes in 2018 and was at its lowest, 48.09 million tonnes, in 2000.
United States ranks 1st of 86 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 52.86 million tonnes | 48.09 million tonnes | 57.24 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 60.55 million tonnes | 58.91 million tonnes | 62.68 million tonnes | 9 |
Countries ranked near United States
More environment data for United States
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 5,913 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 17.39 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 257.35 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 9.47 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 418.87 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 1.54 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 843.36 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 3.59 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 149.52 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycled in United States?
- Municipal waste recycled in United States was 62.68 million tonnes in 2018, 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 62.68 million tonnes in 2018.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.09 million tonnes in 2000.
- How does United States rank for municipal waste recycled?
- United States ranks 1st out of 86 countries with data for 2018.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.
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CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes)