Landfills remain a major destination for municipal waste, although disposal patterns differ by material, country, and measurement system. In the United States, municipal solid waste sent to landfills reached 146,120 thousand short tons in 2018. In the European Union, landfill accounted for 22.5% of municipal waste in 2023. Globally, about 37% of waste was disposed of in some type of landfill in the World Bank’s 2016 assessment.
Table of contents
- U.S. landfill waste over time
- Per-person disposal in the United States
- Materials entering U.S. landfills
- Product categories in the U.S. landfill stream
- Construction and demolition debris
- European and global landfill disposal
- Future waste pressure and emissions
U.S. landfill waste over time
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s municipal landfill series tracks municipal solid waste remaining after recycling, composting, other food-management pathways, and combustion with energy recovery. It excludes construction and demolition debris, industrial process waste, and certain other waste types. The series is reported in U.S. short tons, and 2018 is identified as the latest available national Facts and Figures year in the cited EPA material.
| Year | Municipal solid waste sent to landfills |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 82,510 thousand tons |
| 1970 | 112,590 thousand tons |
| 1980 | 134,360 thousand tons |
| 1990 | 145,270 thousand tons |
| 2000 | 140,260 thousand tons |
| 2005 | 142,290 thousand tons |
| 2010 | 136,310 thousand tons |
| 2015 | 137,610 thousand tons |
| 2017 | 140,470 thousand tons |
| 2018 | 146,120 thousand tons |
The EPA series shows landfill disposal rising from 82,510 thousand tons in 1960 to 145,270 thousand tons in 1990. The measured total was lower in 2000, at 140,260 thousand tons, and reached 136,310 thousand tons in 2010. It then stood at 137,610 thousand tons in 2015, 140,470 thousand tons in 2017, and 146,120 thousand tons in 2018. These are measurements for their stated years, not a single-year estimate applied backward or forward. EPA, Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures 2018
Per-person disposal in the United States
The same EPA series reports average landfill discards per person per day. This measure helps put the national totals in household and community terms, while still representing a national average rather than the disposal behavior of every individual.
| Year | Average landfill discards per person per day |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.51 pounds |
| 1970 | 3.02 pounds |
| 1980 | 3.24 pounds |
| 1990 | 3.19 pounds |
| 2000 | 2.73 pounds |
| 2005 | 2.62 pounds |
| 2010 | 2.41 pounds |
| 2015 | 2.36 pounds |
| 2017 | 2.37 pounds |
| 2018 | 2.44 pounds |
Average landfill discards increased from 2.51 pounds per person per day in 1960 to 3.24 pounds in 1980. The average was 3.19 pounds in 1990, then declined to 2.73 pounds in 2000 and 2.41 pounds in 2010. It reached 2.36 pounds in 2015 and 2.37 pounds in 2017 before measuring 2.44 pounds in 2018. The per-person series therefore does not move in lockstep with the national tonnage series.
Materials entering U.S. landfills
Food and plastics were the largest individually identified material streams in the EPA’s 2018 municipal landfill data. “Other wastes,” which include miscellaneous inorganic wastes, was also a substantial category.
In 2018, U.S. municipal landfill waste included 35,280 thousand tons of food and 26,970 thousand tons of plastics. Other wastes totaled 49,080 thousand tons. Paper and paperboard accounted for 17,220 thousand tons, while metals accounted for 13,930 thousand tons.
The remaining listed material totals were 12,150 thousand tons of wood, 11,300 thousand tons of textiles, 10,530 thousand tons of yard trimmings, 7,550 thousand tons of glass, and 4,990 thousand tons of rubber and leather. These categories describe material entering the municipal landfill stream in 2018; they should not be treated as a complete description of all waste generated in the United States because of the EPA scope limitations.
The material figures from the EPA source are:
- Food: 35,280 thousand tons.
- Plastics: 26,970 thousand tons.
- Paper and paperboard: 17,220 thousand tons.
- Metals: 13,930 thousand tons.
- Wood: 12,150 thousand tons.
- Textiles: 11,300 thousand tons.
- Yard trimmings: 10,530 thousand tons.
- Glass: 7,550 thousand tons.
- Rubber and leather: 4,990 thousand tons.
- Other wastes, including miscellaneous inorganic wastes: 49,080 thousand tons.
Product categories in the U.S. landfill stream
The EPA also groups 2018 municipal landfill waste by product category. Durable goods represented 25.6% of the landfill stream, while nondurable goods represented 19.9%. Containers and packaging represented 20.9%, and total product wastes represented 66.4%.
Among specific material categories, food made up 24.1% of U.S. municipal landfill waste in 2018. Plastics made up 18.5%, paper and paperboard made up 11.8%, textiles made up 7.7%, and yard trimmings made up 7.2%. Clothing and footwear accounted for 9,070 thousand tons.
These percentages use the EPA’s 2018 municipal landfill dataset and its category definitions. They are not recycling rates, recovery rates, or percentages of all material manufactured. They indicate the share attributed to each category within the landfill waste measure. EPA, Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures 2018
Construction and demolition debris
Construction and demolition debris is measured separately from the EPA municipal landfill series, so it is important not to combine the categories without noting the different scope. The United States generated 600 million tons of construction and demolition debris in 2018. Just under 145 million tons were sent to landfills, while just over 455 million tons were directed to next use.
Demolition represented more than 90% of U.S. construction and demolition debris generation in 2018. Construction represented less than 10%. These figures show why a municipal landfill total alone does not describe every major waste stream that may reach disposal facilities.
The construction and demolition figures come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials. The source reports “just under” and “just over” values as stated, so those descriptions are retained rather than replaced with unsupported exact totals.
European and global landfill disposal
Eurostat reports EU averages for municipal waste sent to landfill. In 2023, EU municipal waste sent to landfill averaged 115 kilograms per person, and landfill represented 22.5% of municipal waste generated. In 2013, the corresponding average was 142 kilograms per person, and landfill represented 29.7% of municipal waste generated.
| Measure | 2013 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| EU municipal waste sent to landfill per person | 142 kg | 115 kg |
| Landfill share of EU municipal waste generated | 29.7% | 22.5% |
The figures describe EU averages, not a uniform rate in every member country. They also use a different geography and measurement context from the U.S. EPA series. Eurostat, Municipal waste down by second consecutive year
The World Bank’s global assessment for 2016 estimated that about 37% of global waste was disposed of in some type of landfill. About 33% was openly dumped, about 19% underwent materials recovery through recycling and composting, and about 11% was treated through modern incineration. In the same assessment, upper-middle-income countries had the highest landfill share at 54%, while high-income countries had a landfill share of 39%.
These global disposal shares are estimates based on the World Bank’s 2016 global assessment. They are not current-year measurements and should not be presented as a real-time global landfill rate. World Bank, What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050
Future waste pressure and emissions
The World Bank reported that the world generated 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste in 2016. Global waste generation averaged 0.74 kilogram per person per day, while country-level waste generation ranged from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms per person per day in that assessment.
The World Bank projects global municipal solid waste generation to reach 3.40 billion tonnes by 2050. This is a projection, not an observed total. It signals potential future pressure on collection, recovery, treatment, and disposal systems, but it does not specify how much of the projected waste will enter landfills.
Solid waste treatment and disposal generated an estimated 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions in 2016 and accounted for about 5% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. The emissions estimate covers solid waste treatment and disposal broadly; it should not be read as a landfill-only figure. World Bank, Trends in Solid Waste Management