Recycling rates in the U.S.
The U.S. is one of the largest producers of municipal solid waste worldwide, and although the country’s recycling rate has increased massively since the 1960s, progress has stalled over the past decade. In fact, the recycling rate dropped to just 32.1 percent in 2018, with the average American recycling 1.16 pounds of MSW that year. The low recycling rates in the U.S. are especially noticeable when compared to the recycling rates in European countries such as Germany, where it was higher than 70 percent.While the overall recycling rate is relatively low in the U.S., it varies greatly by material. Paper and paperboard have consistently been the most recycled waste material in the U.S. and accounted for roughly two-thirds of the 69 million metric tons of recycled MSW in 2018. Meanwhile, plastics accounted for less than five percent, with a recycling rate of just 8.7 percent. This means that some 90 percent of U.S. plastic waste is never recycled and ends up either landfilled, incinerated, or leaking into environments. The impact of plastic waste pollution has been brought to global attention in recent years, garnering increased support for improvements to the recycling system.