EPA releases new solid waste and recycling numbers

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2010 revealing long-term trends on what's getting recycled and what isn't for the last three decades.

In 1960, Americans generated 88.1 million tons of waste and recycled 6.4 percent of it. Fast-forward to 2010, Americans generated about 250 million tons of waste and recycled and composted about 85 million tons of it, for a recycling rate of 34 percent. On average, Americans generated about 4.43 pounds of waste per person, per day in 2010 — nearly double the 2.68 pounds individuals tossed in 1960 — and recycled or composted about 1.51 pounds daily.

In the last 20 years, the recycling rate has lagged slightly behind the pace at which waste has been generated. The amount of municipal solid waste recovered in the U.S. rose 156 percent from 33.2 million tons to 85 million tons between 1990 and 2010. During that period, the recycling rate increased 113 percent, going from 16 percent to 34 percent.

The report also sheds light on what's going into the waste stream in the U.S. before recycling. Paper is the largest portion at 28.5 percent, followed by organic waste at about 27.0 percent, with yard trimmings and food scraps making up about equal parts of it. Plastics followed at 12.4 percent and metals at 9.0 percent.

Also included was a breakdown of recycling rates of various products by category:

• Auto batteries were recycled the most frequently at 96.2 percent
• Newspapers and mechanical paper made up 71.6 percent
• Steel cans 67.0 percent
• Yard trimmings at 57.5 percent
• Aluminum cans at 49.6 percent
• Glass containers at 33.4 percent
• HDPE bottles at 27.5 percent and PET bottles and jars were recycled at a 21.0 percent rate.

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