Municipal waste recycling rate in United States
United States: Municipal waste recycling rate was 25.68 Percentage in 2014. ▲ Rising
Latest (2014)
25.68 Percentage
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
17th
of 31 countries
All-time high
26.55 Percentage
in 2011
All-time low
13.94 Percentage
in 1990
Years of data
25
1990–2014
Municipal waste recycling rate in United States, 1990–2014
Source: OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in Percentage.
Analysis
United States recorded 25.68 Percentage for municipal waste recycling rate in 2014.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycling rate in United States peaked at 26.55 Percentage in 2011 and was at its lowest, 13.94 Percentage, in 1990.
United States ranks 17th of 31 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycling rate in United States, year by year
| Year | Percentage | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 13.94 Percentage | — |
| 1991 | 15.66 Percentage | +12.3% |
| 1992 | 16.76 Percentage | +7.0% |
| 1993 | 17.35 Percentage | +3.5% |
| 1994 | 19.55 Percentage | +12.7% |
| 1995 | 21.24 Percentage | +8.6% |
| 1996 | 21.82 Percentage | +2.7% |
| 1997 | 21.48 Percentage | -1.6% |
| 1998 | 21.43 Percentage | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 21.63 Percentage | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 21.77 Percentage | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 22.06 Percentage | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 22.11 Percentage | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 22.74 Percentage | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 22.86 Percentage | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 23.35 Percentage | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 24.06 Percentage | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 24.6 Percentage | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 24.52 Percentage | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 25.33 Percentage | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 26 Percentage | +2.6% |
| 2011 | 26.55 Percentage | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 26.03 Percentage | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 25.54 Percentage | -1.9% |
| 2014 | 25.68 Percentage | +0.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 25.68 Percentage is below the median for high income countries, which is 26.13 Percentage, 98% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.09 Percentage | 13.94 Percentage | 21.82 Percentage | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.34 Percentage | 21.77 Percentage | 25.33 Percentage | 10 |
| 2010s | 25.96 Percentage | 25.54 Percentage | 26.55 Percentage | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More environment data for United States
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.16 Percentage change (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 3.36 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.3672 % 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 -0.624 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.1269 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycling rate in United States?
- Municipal waste recycling rate in United States was 25.68 Percentage in 2014, according to OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycling rate recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 26.55 Percentage in 2011.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycling rate recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.94 Percentage in 1990.
- How does United States rank for municipal waste recycling rate?
- United States ranks 17th out of 31 countries with data for 2014.
- Is municipal waste recycling rate rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2018) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycling rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal (including household) waste recycling rates, measured as the percentage of total waste generated that is recycled.