Market value of waste recycling services worldwide 2020-2030

The global waste recycling services market was valued at 55.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, and was estimated at 57.69 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. The market is expected to grow considerably in the coming years as consumer awareness about the environmental impacts of waste increases. By 2028, it is forecast that the global waste recycling services market will have reached a value of almost 90 billion U.S. dollars, registering a CAGR of 4.8 percent during the forecast period 2021 to 2030.

Global plastics recycling

While many materials can be recycled, it is plastic waste that has come into significant media attention in recent years. The images of plastic waste polluting marine environments has increased consumer demand for improved recycling worldwide. Since the 1950's, some 10 billion metric tons of plastic materials have been produced worldwide. However, just a small amount of this has ever been recycled.

Recycling rates worldwide

Recycling rates vary greatly around the world. Germany has one of the highest recycling rates of municipal waste at almost 50 percent. In comparison, the recycling rate in the U.S. is just 25 percent and has seen little progress over the past decade. Price is often a factor in low recycling rates, as it is often cheaper to produce new plastic products from raw materials than recycled materials.