Volume of municipal solid waste recycled in the U.S. 1960-2018

One of the first mass recycling programs in the United States was implemented in 1970 in Hawaii. Since then, the recovery of municipal solid waste (MSW) for recycling has increased, surpassing 69 million tons in 2018.

Plastic waste recycling

China was once the leading destination for plastic waste exports from the United States. However, in 2017, the East Asian country implemented a ban on the import of most plastic waste. Since then, shipments of U.S. plastic waste have changed, with neighboring countries Canada and Mexico now being the main destinations. In addition to that, much of the previously exported plastic waste must now be dealt with domestically but – despite having increased in recent years – the plastic recycling rate in the North American country is still low.

Recycling schemes in the U.S.

Single stream recycling is one of the most commonly used recycling schemes by material recovery facilities (MRFs) in the United States. This system allows many different types of recyclables – including paper, plastic, metal, and glass – to be placed into one container. While single stream recycling tends to increase recycling rates due to its ease, encouraging consumers to recycle, more than eight percent of U.S. population do not have access to recycling programs. Furthermore, allowing consumers to put all materials into one waste bin increases contamination such as broken glass or presence of non-recyclable items.