Cardboard recycling statistics show a long-term shift in the United States: paper and paperboard packaging generation increased through 2018, while recycling rose faster and landfilling declined. The EPA’s 2018 data recorded a 96.5% recycling rate for corrugated boxes. AF&PA’s 2024 figures reported more than 33 million tons of cardboard recycled, or about 90,000 tons per day.
Contents
- The long-term picture
- Generation and recycling over time
- Landfilling and energy recovery
- Corrugated boxes in 2018
- Recent cardboard recycling figures
- Access, mills, and recycled fiber
The long-term picture
The EPA’s containers and packaging data tracks paper and paperboard containers and packaging in municipal solid waste (MSW). It reports generation, recycling, combustion with energy recovery, and landfilling in thousand U.S. tons. The series covers selected years from 1960 through 2018, so the dates are not annual observations.
Generation rose from 14,110 thousand tons in 1960 to 21,400 thousand in 1970 and 26,350 thousand in 1980. It reached 32,680 thousand in 1990 and 39,940 thousand in 2000. The 2005 figure was 39,640 thousand tons, followed by 37,680 thousand in 2010. Generation then reached 39,920 thousand in 2015, 41,060 thousand in 2017, and 41,900 thousand in 2018.
Recycling grew across the same period. The EPA recorded 2,740 thousand tons recycled in 1960, 3,110 thousand in 1970, and 7,210 thousand in 1980. The amount reached 12,070 thousand in 1990 and 21,040 thousand in 2000. It was 23,610 thousand tons in 2005, 26,850 thousand in 2010, 31,200 thousand in 2015, 30,080 thousand in 2017, and 33,890 thousand in 2018.
The contrast between generation and recycling is especially clear in the later measurements. In 2018, the stream generated 41,900 thousand tons and recycled 33,890 thousand tons, according to the EPA containers and packaging data. These are stream totals for paper and paperboard containers and packaging, not a cardboard-only total.
Generation and recycling over time
The selected EPA measurements provide a useful view of how the stream changed:
| Year | Generated (thousand U.S. tons) | Recycled (thousand U.S. tons) |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 14,110 | 2,740 |
| 1970 | 21,400 | 3,110 |
| 1980 | 26,350 | 7,210 |
| 1990 | 32,680 | 12,070 |
| 2000 | 39,940 | 21,040 |
| 2005 | 39,640 | 23,610 |
| 2010 | 37,680 | 26,850 |
| 2015 | 39,920 | 31,200 |
| 2017 | 41,060 | 30,080 |
| 2018 | 41,900 | 33,890 |
EPA containers and packaging data
The 1960–2018 series shows recycling increasing from 2,740 thousand tons to 33,890 thousand tons. The 2018 recycling amount was the highest listed measurement in this supplied EPA series, while the 2018 generation amount was also the highest listed measurement.
The path was not perfectly linear. Recycling rose from 26,850 thousand tons in 2010 to 31,200 thousand in 2015, then measured 30,080 thousand in 2017 before reaching 33,890 thousand in 2018. Generation measured 37,680 thousand tons in 2010, 39,920 thousand in 2015, 41,060 thousand in 2017, and 41,900 thousand in 2018.
In the EPA’s 2018 breakdown, paper and paperboard containers and packaging represented 41.9 million tons of MSW generation, or 14.3% of total MSW generation. Corrugated boxes were a major component of that stream, with 33.3 million tons generated, equal to 11.4% of total MSW generation.
Landfilling and energy recovery
The EPA series also records what happened to material that was not recycled. Paper and paperboard containers and packaging landfilled totaled 11,370 thousand tons in 1960 and 18,220 thousand in 1970. The amount was 18,760 thousand tons in 1980 and 17,110 thousand in 1990.
Landfilled tonnage then declined to 15,230 thousand tons in 2000, 13,110 thousand in 2005, and 8,910 thousand in 2010. The EPA recorded 7,010 thousand tons landfilled in 2015, 8,820 thousand in 2017, and 6,440 thousand in 2018.
Combustion with energy recovery was 70 thousand tons in 1970 and 380 thousand in 1980. It reached 3,500 thousand tons in 1990 and 3,670 thousand in 2000, then measured 2,920 thousand in 2005, 1,920 thousand in 2010, 1,710 thousand in 2015, 2,160 thousand in 2017, and 1,570 thousand in 2018.
For the overall paper and paperboard packaging stream in 2018, the EPA reported recycling at 80.9% of the stream. Combustion with energy recovery represented 3.7%, while landfilling represented 15.4%. These percentages describe the overall paper and paperboard packaging stream; the corrugated-box rate is reported separately below.
Corrugated boxes had a different 2018 profile. The EPA reported 230,000 tons combusted with energy recovery and 940,000 tons landfilled. The reported corrugated-box recycling rate was 96.5%.
Corrugated boxes in 2018
Corrugated boxes generated 33.3 million tons in 2018, according to EPA containers and packaging data. Their recycled volume was 32.1 million tons. The EPA also reported corrugated boxes as accounting for 33.9 million tons of total paper and paperboard recycling. The figures use the EPA’s reported measures and labels, so the generated, recycled-volume, and total-recycling figures should not be treated as interchangeable definitions.
The 96.5% corrugated-box recycling rate is the most specific high-level cardboard statistic in the supplied 2018 EPA figures. It is higher than the 80.9% overall recycling rate for paper and paperboard packaging because the broader packaging stream includes materials beyond corrugated boxes.
The same EPA data estimated about 1.8 million tons of other paper packaging entering recycling in 2018. This provides context for the broader paper-and-paperboard totals, but it is an estimate and should be read separately from the corrugated-box generation and rate figures.
The 2018 stream comparison is compactly summarized below.
| Measure | Paper and paperboard packaging | Corrugated boxes |
|---|---|---|
| Generation | 41.9 million tons | 33.3 million tons |
| Recycling rate | 80.9% | 96.5% |
| Combustion with energy recovery | 3.7% of stream | 230,000 tons |
| Landfilled | 15.4% of stream | 940,000 tons |
EPA containers and packaging data; percentages and tonnage refer to 2018.
Recent cardboard recycling figures
AF&PA’s 2024 U.S. Paper and Cardboard Recycling Rates reported a cardboard recycling rate of 69% to 74%. The same source reported more than 33 million tons of cardboard recycled in 2024, equal to about 90,000 tons per day. Because the rate is presented as a range and the tonnage as “more than” 33 million, these figures should be understood as reported ranges and thresholds rather than a single exact rate or total.
For comparison, AF&PA reported a 2024 paper recycling rate of 60% to 64% and about 46 million tons of paper recycled, equal to about 125,000 tons per day. These paper figures cover paper broadly and are not a substitute for the cardboard-only figures.
AF&PA’s recycling page said the paper industry recycles nearly 60% more paper today than it did in 1990. That statement compares a current industry measure with 1990 and does not provide an independently verified annual series in the supplied figures.
AF&PA’s 2024 recycling handout reported that nearly half of recycled paper went into making containerboard for cardboard boxes. This connects recovered paper with new box production, but “nearly half” is an approximate share rather than a precise percentage.
Access, mills, and recycled fiber
Recycling access is part of the practical picture. AF&PA’s recycling page reported that 79% of Americans had access to a community residential-curbside recycling program in 2024. Access does not mean that every resident recycles every cardboard item, but it indicates the reported reach of curbside programs during that year.
AF&PA’s press release reported that recycled paper represented 44.4% of all fiber used at U.S. mills in 2024. The same release reported that U.S. mills used 32.7 million tons of recycled paper to make new products in 2024, compared with 31.3 million tons in 2023. It also reported that net containers entering the United States increased 13.5% in 2024.
AF&PA gave a longer comparison for recycled paper’s share of fiber used at U.S. mills: 36.6% in 2005, 37.7% in 2015, and 44.4% in 2024. These are industry figures for the share of fiber used at mills, not cardboard recycling rates.
The AF&PA recycling handout said the U.S. forest products industry employs more than 925,000 people and is among the top 10 manufacturing-sector employers in 44 states. It also said the industry accounts for approximately 4.7% of total U.S. manufacturing GDP and manufactures more than $435 billion in products annually. These are industry-wide measures rather than cardboard-specific outcomes.
Together, the reported 2024 measures describe a system with more than 33 million tons of cardboard recycled, 79% reported curbside-program access, 44.4% recycled-fiber use at U.S. mills, and 32.7 million tons of recycled paper used to make new products. The EPA’s 2018 data supplies the more detailed cardboard breakdown, including the 96.5% corrugated-box recycling rate, 230,000 tons combusted with energy recovery, and 940,000 tons landfilled.