Household waste is tracked differently across countries, but the broad pattern is clear: waste volumes are large, recycling progress is uneven, and access to collection remains a major dividing line. The figures below distinguish household-only measures from municipal waste, which can also include similar small-commercial sources.
Table of contents
- Global waste totals and future scenarios
- Waste generated per person
- What household and municipal waste contains
- Collection gaps and material diversion
- Recycling and composting rates
- Incineration and landfill outcomes
- National household waste snapshots
Global waste totals and future scenarios
The World Bank reported 2.56 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste generated worldwide in 2022. Its business-as-usual scenario projects 3.86 billion tonnes in 2050, a 50% increase between 2022 and 2050. These are municipal-waste figures rather than a household-only total, so they include the wider municipal stream defined by the source.
The same World Bank outlook shows how strongly the result depends on policy and investment. A low-ambition intervention scenario projects 3.12 billion tonnes of global municipal waste in 2050, compared with 3.86 billion tonnes under business as usual. The scenarios are forecasts, not observed values for 2026. (Source: World Bank, What a Waste 3.0)
Waste management also has a financial scale. The global cost of municipal waste management already exceeds US$250 billion annually, according to the World Bank’s 2025 reporting. That cost is projected to rise to US$426 billion annually by 2050.
The emissions scenarios differ as well. The World Bank’s business-as-usual scenario projects 1.84 billion tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent from the waste sector in 2050. A high-ambition scenario projects 0.91 billion tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent. Both are scenario values for 2050, not measurements of current emissions. (Source: World Bank, What a Waste 3.0)
Waste generated per person
Per-person figures make national differences easier to compare, although they still reflect each source’s definition of municipal waste. In the European Union, municipal waste generation averaged 511 kilograms per person in 2023. The average was 515 kilograms in 2022 and 534 kilograms in 2021. Eurostat also reported that the 2023 average was 32 kilograms per person higher than in 2013. (Source: Eurostat, “Municipal waste down by second consecutive year”)
The EU country figures reported for 2022 show a wide spread:
| EU country | Municipal waste per person | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | 803 kg | 2022 |
| Denmark | 802 kg | 2022 |
| Luxembourg | 712 kg | 2022 |
| Romania | 303 kg | 2022 |
Austria recorded the highest value among the EU countries listed by Eurostat, while Romania recorded the lowest. These figures should not be read as a direct ranking of household behavior alone: municipal totals can be affected by tourism, commercial-like sources, reporting systems, and how waste is assigned to residents. (Source: Eurostat, “Municipal waste down by second consecutive year”)
What household and municipal waste contains
Food is one of the largest measurable waste streams. UNEP estimates global food waste at 1.05 billion tonnes annually across retail, food service, and household levels. The estimate represents 20% of food available to consumers at those levels. UNEP estimates that food waste contributes 8% to 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. These are global annual estimates reported in 2024, not a household-only total. (Source: UNEP, “Waste Pollution 101”)
Plastic is another major component. Global plastic waste generation is estimated at 353 million tonnes annually. Packaging accounts for 36% of all plastic produced globally. UNEP reports that about 46% of global plastic waste is landfilled, while about 22% is mismanaged and becomes litter. About 85% of single-use plastic bottles, containers, and packaging end up in landfills or are mismanaged. (Source: UNEP, “Waste Pollution 101”)
Electronic waste adds a separate material and management challenge. Global electronic waste generation is estimated at 54 million tonnes annually, and only 17% is described by UNEP as properly managed. The figure covers global electronic waste rather than only discarded electronics from households. (Source: UNEP, “Waste Pollution 101”)
These categories do not form a single additive household-waste inventory. Food waste, plastic waste, and electronic waste are measured using different global definitions and scopes. They are useful indicators of material pressure, but they should not be added together as though they came from one common accounting system.
Collection gaps and material diversion
Collection is a basic condition for safe treatment, recycling, composting, or controlled disposal. UNEP estimates that 2.7 billion people globally lack access to solid-waste collection. The World Bank’s latest data summary reported collection coverage as low as 31% in Sub-Saharan Africa and as low as 67% in South Asia. The coverage figures are regional estimates summarized in 2025, while the global population figure is a current estimate reported in 2024. (Sources: UNEP, “Waste Pollution 101”; World Bank, What a Waste 3.0)
Canada’s 2022 data illustrates the difference between disposal and diversion. Canadian residential sources accounted for 10.7 million tonnes of waste disposed of in 2022. Across all sources, Canada diverted 9.9 million tonnes of waste in the same year. Paper fibres made up 3.6 million tonnes of diverted material, while organic materials, including food and leaf-and-yard waste, accounted for 3.1 million tonnes. (Source: Statistics Canada, “Less diversion and more non-residential sources push Canada’s waste disposal to new high in 2022”)
Plastic diversion was reported separately. Almost 367,000 tonnes of plastic were sent to material-recycling facilities in Canada in 2022. This is a quantity sent to facilities, not a claim that every tonne became a new product. (Source: Statistics Canada, Biennial Waste Management Survey: Waste Diversion, 2022)
Recycling and composting rates
The EU recycled an average of 246 kilograms of municipal waste per person in 2023. Recycling represented 48.0% of EU municipal waste generated that year. In 2013, the EU recycled 199 kilograms per person, and recycling represented 37.2% of municipal waste generated.
| EU recycling measure | 2013 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Recycled municipal waste per person | 199 kg | 246 kg |
| Recycling share of municipal waste | 37.2% | 48.0% |
The comparison covers the same EU-level measures across the two years, but it does not make the EU rate interchangeable with a household-only recycling rate. (Source: Eurostat, “Municipal waste down by second consecutive year”)
The United States reported approximately 69 million U.S. short tons of municipal solid waste recycled in 2018 and approximately 25 million U.S. short tons composted. Recycling and composting together represented 32.1% of U.S. municipal solid waste generation in 2018. U.S. figures use U.S. short tons, not metric tonnes. (Source: U.S. EPA, “National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling”)
The UK provisional recycling rate for waste from households was 44.6% in 2023. The UK series includes incinerator-bottom-ash metal, and both the 2023 UK and England totals are provisional because one English local authority had incomplete reporting. (Source: UK Government, “UK statistics on waste”)
Incineration and landfill outcomes
Eurostat’s 2023 EU figures show three different treatment outcomes measured per person. Incineration averaged 129 kilograms per person and represented 25.2% of municipal waste generated. Landfilling averaged 115 kilograms per person and represented 22.5%.
Compared with 2013, the 2023 EU average for incineration was higher in absolute terms: 127 kilograms per person in 2013 versus 129 kilograms in 2023. Landfilling moved in the opposite direction, from 142 kilograms per person in 2013 to 115 kilograms in 2023. (Source: Eurostat, “Municipal waste down by second consecutive year”)
The United States combusted nearly 35 million U.S. short tons of municipal solid waste with energy recovery in 2018. It landfilled about 146.1 million U.S. short tons in the same year. These treatment quantities sit alongside the U.S. recycling and composting figures and use the EPA’s municipal solid-waste scope. (Source: U.S. EPA, “National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling”)
National household waste snapshots
The U.S. EPA reported 292.4 million U.S. short tons of municipal solid waste generated in 2018. That equated to an average of 4.9 pounds per person per day. For context, the reported total was 268.7 million U.S. short tons in 2017 and 208.3 million U.S. short tons in 1990. The figures describe municipal solid waste and are not a household-only series. (Source: U.S. EPA, “National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling”)
The EPA’s 2018 material breakdown included 63.1 million U.S. short tons of food waste, equal to 21.6% of municipal solid waste generation. Yard trimmings accounted for 35.4 million U.S. short tons, or 12.1%, while plastic products accounted for 35.7 million U.S. short tons, or 12.2%.
The UK reported 25.9 million tonnes of waste from households in 2023, including 21.7 million tonnes from England. Those 2023 figures are provisional because one English local authority had incomplete reporting. The UK waste-from-households series includes incinerator-bottom-ash metal, so it is not directly interchangeable with every other national waste measure. (Source: UK Government, “UK statistics on waste”)
Together, these national snapshots show why a household waste statistic needs a country, unit, year, and waste definition attached to it. Municipal totals can describe the practical system serving households, but the boundary may also include similar municipal or small-commercial sources.