Waste - Municipal waste: generation and treatment — Total waste in United States
United States: Waste - Municipal waste: generation and treatment — Total waste was 120.09 Index in 2018. ▲ Rising
Waste - Municipal waste: generation and treatment — Total waste in United States, 1975–2018
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Index.
Analysis
United States recorded 120.09 Index for waste - municipal waste: generation and treatment — total waste in 2018. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
That represents a change of up 8.8% on the previous year and up 15.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, waste - municipal waste: generation and treatment — total waste in United States peaked at 120.09 Index in 2018 and was at its lowest, 52.62 Index, in 1975.
That places United States 20th out of 35 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Waste - Municipal waste: generation and treatment — Total waste in United States, year by year
| Year | Index | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 52.62 Index | — |
| 1980 | 62.29 Index | +18.4% |
| 1988 | 73.77 Index | +18.4% |
| 1990 | 85.55 Index | +16.0% |
| 1991 | 85.33 Index | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 88.29 Index | +3.5% |
| 1993 | 89.54 Index | +1.4% |
| 1994 | 90.89 Index | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 89.25 Index | -1.8% |
| 1996 | 88.72 Index | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 91.64 Index | +3.3% |
| 1998 | 93.29 Index | +1.8% |
| 1999 | 96.48 Index | +3.4% |
| 2000 | 100 Index | +3.6% |
| 2001 | 98.91 Index | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 100.77 Index | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 101.22 Index | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 104.38 Index | +3.1% |
| 2005 | 104.22 Index | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 105.61 Index | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 105.36 Index | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 103.78 Index | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 100.6 Index | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 103.12 Index | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 103.5 Index | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 103.63 Index | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 104.77 Index | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 106.14 Index | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 107.67 Index | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 110.13 Index | +2.3% |
| 2017 | 110.36 Index | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 120.09 Index | +8.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 52.62 Index | 52.62 Index | 52.62 Index | 1 |
| 1980s | 68.03 Index | 62.29 Index | 73.77 Index | 2 |
| 1990s | 89.9 Index | 85.33 Index | 96.48 Index | 10 |
| 2000s | 102.49 Index | 98.91 Index | 105.61 Index | 10 |
| 2010s | 107.71 Index | 103.12 Index | 120.09 Index | 9 |
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)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.91 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.62 Percentage change (2024)
- Heating Degree Days 6,193 (2024)
- Cooling Degree Days 1,199 (2024)
- Total fisheries production 4.68 million metric tons (2024)
- Capture fisheries production 4.21 million metric tons (2024)
- Aquaculture production 467,617 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste 9.94 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is waste - municipal waste: generation and treatment — total waste in United States?
- Waste - municipal waste: generation and treatment — total waste in United States was 120.09 Index in 2018, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest waste - municipal waste: generation and treatment — total waste recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 120.09 Index in 2018.
- What is the lowest waste - municipal waste: generation and treatment — total waste recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.62 Index in 1975.
- How does United States rank for waste - municipal waste: generation and treatment — total waste?
- United States ranks 20th out of 35 countries with data for 2018.
- Is waste - municipal waste: generation and treatment — total waste rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Waste - Municipal waste: generation and treatment — Total waste generated. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
About this data
This dataset presents trends in amounts of municipal waste generated (including household waste), and the treatment and disposal method used. The amount of waste generated in each country is related to the rate of urbanisation, the types and pattern of consumption, household revenue and lifestyles. Data source(s): OECD Annual Quality Assurance (AQA) questionnaire (jointly collected with Eurostat) for OECD countries. UNSD, Country Files from the UNSD/UNEP data collection on environment statistics (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/envstats/country_files) for non-OECD countries. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Dataset release date: March, 2026 Database documentation