Recycling by the Numbers: The Good, Bad and Ugly of Statistics and Comparisons

by Adam Williams on August 22, 2008

in Recycling

By the numbers, here is where the United States stands in its recycling effort. Not the best, not the worst.

Just making a quick assessment based on these digits — maybe the U.S. has earned a C (with a curve applied, perhaps).

Good job, Austria. Pick up the pace, Greece. And let’s all keep plugging away. The numbers may be lower than some of us would like, but they register continuing increases. Americans are recycling more than ever before; we’re on an up-swing.

251 million – tons of trash in the United States

82 million – tons of materials recycled in the United States

53.4 – percentage of all paper products recycled in the United States

32.5 – percentage of total waste that is recycled in the United States

100 – approximate percentage of increase in total recycling in the United States during the past decade

60 – approximate amount of total recycling in Austria, the leading recycler in the European Union

10 – percentage of total recycling in Greece

8,660 – number of curbside recycling programs in the United States in 2006

8,875 – number of curbside recycling programs in the United States in 2003

6 – weeks it takes to manufacture, fill, sell, recycle and re-manufacture an aluminum beverage can

95 – percentage of energy saved by recycling an aluminum can, compared with manufacturing a new one

4.6 – pounds of trash per person per day in the United States (most in the world)

1.5 – pounds of recycled materials per person per day in the United States

Related posts:

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Your Way to Lower Overhead

What Do You Do About the Waste? Recycle and Reuse.

Mini Extreme Recycling: What Are You Doing?

Recycling Soon to Be Mandatory in San Francisco

Sources:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Municipal Solid Waste Generation Statistics and Figures

United States Recycling Statistics (Green Living)

Garbage Statistics and Studies – LaPorte County (Ind.) Solid Waste District

Environment-Green

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • TwitThis
  • E-mail this story to a friend!

About Adam Williams

I live in St. Louis. I write. I photograph. I think I can pinpoint my beginning as an advocate for Earth when, as a photojournalism student several years ago, I photographed a neighbor's filthy, littered back yard for a class assignment. The debris had laid scattered there for months. The day after I made those photographs, it was cleaned up. I liked to think I had been spotted documenting the crime scene and that somehow influenced the improvement. Now, after a handful of years as a journalist -- using camera and pen -- I focus heavily on the writing side of life. I write as a corporate communications guy by day. I tend to a blog -- iHappy -- for writings on a positive, happy life. And I'm on my way to an all-'round obsession with efficiency and re-usability for everything. By writing for Green Options, all facets of my life have finally merged.

{ 8 trackbacks }

Individual Recycling Efforts Do Have Impact; Periodicals Are the Difference-Makers : Sustainablog
September 3, 2008 at 9:02 am
The Twelve Days of sustainablog: Urban Homesteading, Green Colleges, and Recycling by the Numbers : Sustainablog
December 30, 2008 at 8:46 pm
The Truth About Recycling | ZapRoot 080 | ZapRoot
March 25, 2009 at 1:36 am
Computer Recycling: How Do You Do It? | Sustainablog
February 8, 2010 at 2:30 pm
From the Editor: How the internet helps Millenials go green « The Talking Twenties Blogzine
April 1, 2010 at 6:17 am
Green Living #2: Recycling | Solar Energy World
June 2, 2010 at 11:42 am
Green Living: Recycling | Solar Energy World
July 6, 2010 at 3:38 pm
The Importance of Reuseanomics « think reuseanomically
August 31, 2010 at 1:23 pm

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

Saad Khan August 25, 2008 at 5:42 am
Valarie March 24, 2009 at 5:57 pm

Can you tell me if these are annual statistics? In other words, does this mean there are 251 tons of trash in the US every year?

Adam Williams April 8, 2009 at 2:34 pm

@Valarie — the number 251 million tons of trash is for one year, not necessarily every year.

looking at the “United States Recycling Statistics (Green Living)” link under Sources above, the number given for 2005 was 246 million tons, and it was 248 million tons of trash in 2004.

Fallon August 20, 2009 at 10:13 pm

your link to the EPA does not work. Can you please post a working link? -Thanks

Brittany September 17, 2009 at 6:26 pm

It doesn’t tell you what the good, the bad, or the ugly is of recycling!! It’s filled with statistics but nothing else.

Mallory April 18, 2010 at 3:42 pm

I think that the numbers are shocking. Recycling should not be a choice. Why should doing the right thing by reusing something be a choice? Well I think that non-recyclers are conceited. I’m not judging them all but when they say that recyclers just recycle to feel good- so what? As long as it helps the planet and supports the cause what does it matter? The main and only reason people don’t recycle is because of laziness. Which doesn’t make sense because it is the same process as throwing your trash away, putting it in a bin. I hope this changes at least one person’s non-recycling habbits.

james bickham June 3, 2010 at 7:07 am

Most people shudder at the thought of this

Leave a Comment

Previous post: Electronic Bills, Convenience and Sustainability

Next post: Book Review: Serve God Save the Planet