U.S. municipal solid waste generated by material

The volume of different materials generated in the United States municipal solid waste stream has increased considerably since the 1960s. One of the most dramatic increases was observed in plastic waste generation, which grew from 6.8 million tons in 1980 to more than 35 million tons in 2018.

Paper waste in the United States

Municipal solid waste is commonly known as the garbage produced from everyday items from households, the commercial industry, and institutions. In total, the United States has increased its generation of municipal solid waste from 88.1 million tons in 1960 to some 292.4 million tons in 2018. Since the 1960s, municipal waste in the United States has been primarily paper and paperboard materials. In 2018, the North American country produced 67.4 million tons of paper and paperboard waste. The ability to recover paper and paperboard waste has steadily increased, surpassing a rate of 65 percent in recent years. However, a large portion of tissue products and retained documents are unrecoverable due to the thousands of chemicals contained within the fibers, which could contaminate newly manufactured paper products. Another fraction of paper waste is landfilled, despite being potentially recoverable. Lack of collection infrastructure, poor recycling habits, or low awareness are usually the main reasons why waste is not recovered.

Landfilled waste

Although the volume of recycled municipal solid waste has increased over the years, landfilling is still the main waste disposal method in the United States. Out of approximately 290 million tons of waste generated in 2018 in the North American country, roughly 146 million tons were landfilled. In comparison, only 69 million tons were recycled.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) generation in the United States from 1960 to 2018, by material (in 1,000 tons)

Characteristic	Paper and paperboard	Food*	Plastics	Yard trimmings	Metals	Wood	Textiles	Glass	Rubber and leather	Miscellaneous inorganic wastes**	Other materials***
1960	29,990	12,200	390	20,000	10,820	3,030	1,760	6,720	1,840	1,300	70
1970	44,310	12,800	2,900	23,200	13,830	3,720	2,040	12,740	2,970	1,780	770
1980	55,160	13,000	6,830	27,500	15,510	7,010	2,530	15,130	4,200	2,250	2,520
1990	72,730	23,860	17,130	35,000	16,550	12,210	5,810	13,100	5,790	2,900	3,190
2000	87,740	30,700	25,530	30,530	18,940	13,570	9,480	12,770	6,670	3,500	4,000
2005	84,840	32,930	29,380	32,070	20,400	14,790	11,510	12,540	7,290	3,690	4,290
2010	71,310	35,740	31,400	33,400	22,450	15,710	13,220	11,520	7,750	3,840	4,710
2015	68,050	39,730	34,480	34,720	23,870	16,300	16,060	11,470	8,560	3,990	4,880
2017	67,010	40,670	35,410	35,180	25,220	18,200	16,890	11,380	9,110	4,040	5,100
2018	67,390	63,130	35,680	35,400	25,600	18,090	17,030	12,250	9,160	4,070	4,560

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Release date

December 2022

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Region

United States

Survey time period

1960 to 2018

Special properties

Waste generation before materials recovery or combustion; not including construction and demolition debris, industrial process waste, or certain other waste streams.

Supplementary notes

* In 2018, the food waste measurement methodology was expanded to include additional sources of generation and management pathways beyond composting, combustion with energy recovery and landfilling.
** Miscellaneous inorganic waste includes soil, bits of concrete, and stones.
*** Other materials include electrolytes in batteries and fluff pulp, feces and urine in disposable diapers.

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