Plastic recycling statistics show a large gap between the amount of plastic generated and the amount recovered. In the United States, 35.68 million tons of plastics entered the municipal solid waste stream in 2018, but only 3.09 million tons were recycled, an 8.7% recycling rate. The same year, 26.97 million tons were landfilled and 5.62 million tons were combusted with energy recovery, according to the US EPA plastics material-specific data.
This page brings together U.S. material, packaging, and post-consumer recovery figures, along with global findings from the OECD. Dates and geographies are kept explicit because a national recycling rate, a collection rate, and a recovery volume measure different parts of the system.
Plastic recycling statistics at a glance
- 35.68 million tons: U.S. plastics generated in municipal solid waste in 2018 (US EPA plastics material-specific data).
- 3.09 million tons: U.S. plastics recycled in 2018 (US EPA plastics material-specific data).
- 8.7%: U.S. plastics recycling rate in 2018 (US EPA plastics material-specific data).
- 14.53 million tons: U.S. plastic containers and packaging generated in 2018 (US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures).
- 1.98 million tons: U.S. plastic containers and packaging recycled in 2018 (US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures).
- 13.6%: Recycling rate for U.S. plastic containers and packaging in 2018 (US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures).
- Just over 5 billion pounds: Post-consumer plastic recovered for recycling by U.S. recyclers in 2022 (APR 2022 U.S. Post-consumer Plastic Recycling Data).
- 32.5%: U.S. PET bottle collection rate in 2023 after revision (NAPCOR 2023 PET Recycling Report).
- 9%: Share of global plastic waste ultimately recycled in 2019 after recycling losses (OECD Global Plastics Outlook).
How much plastic did the United States recycle?
The 2018 U.S. totals show why “plastic recycling” cannot be described by recovery alone. Of 35.68 million tons of plastics in municipal solid waste, 3.09 million tons were recycled. The recycling rate was 8.7%. Another 5.62 million tons were combusted with energy recovery, while 26.97 million tons were landfilled. Plastics represented 12.2% of U.S. municipal solid waste generation in that year. These figures are from the US EPA plastics material-specific data and describe the 2018 U.S. municipal solid waste stream.
Containers and packaging were a major part of that total. The US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures report 14.53 million tons of plastic containers and packaging generated and 1.98 million tons recycled, for a 13.6% recycling rate. That category therefore had a higher rate than plastics across the full material-specific total, although both rates remained well below one-fifth.
The broader U.S. municipal solid waste trend provides context. Generation increased from 88.12 million tons in 1960 to 121.06 million in 1970, 151.64 million in 1980, 208.27 million in 1990, and 243.45 million in 2000. It reached 253.73 million tons in 2005, 251.05 million in 2010, 262.11 million in 2015, 268.66 million in 2017, and 292.36 million tons in 2018, according to the US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures.
Plastic packaging and product-type recycling rates
Rates vary sharply by the type of plastic item. The following 2018 U.S. figures are from the US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures.
| Plastic category | Generated | Recycled | Recycling rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| PET bottles and jars | 3.13 million tons | 910,000 tons | 29.1% |
| Natural HDPE bottles | 750,000 tons | 220,000 tons | 29.3% |
| Other HDPE containers | 1.60 million tons | 290,000 tons | 18.1% |
| LDPE/LLDPE bags, sacks, and wraps | 2.78 million tons | 370,000 tons | 13.3% |
| Other polypropylene containers | 250,000 tons | 20,000 tons | 8.0% |
| Other PET packaging | 730,000 tons | 70,000 tons | 9.6% |
| Other polystyrene packaging | 330,000 tons | 20,000 tons | 6.1% |
| Other polypropylene packaging | 1.01 million tons | 30,000 tons | 3.0% |
PET bottles and jars reached a 29.1% recycling rate, while natural HDPE bottles reached 29.3%. Those were the strongest listed packaging rates, narrowly ahead of other HDPE containers at 18.1%. By contrast, other polypropylene packaging had a 3.0% rate, and other polystyrene packaging had a 6.1% rate. The figures measure generated and recycled tonnage, not the share of every item placed in a particular curbside program.
Plastic in durable goods generated 13.69 million tons and recycled 930,000 tons, a 6.8% rate. Plastic in nondurable goods generated 7.46 million tons and recycled 180,000 tons, a 2.4% rate. These product-group totals also come from the US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures.
Recycling rates by plastic resin
The resin-level totals show another layer of variation in the 2018 U.S. municipal solid waste stream. PET generated 5.29 million tons and recycled 980,000 tons, for an 18.5% rate. HDPE generated 6.30 million tons and recycled 560,000 tons, for an 8.9% rate. LDPE/LLDPE generated 8.59 million tons and recycled 370,000 tons, for a 4.3% rate.
Polypropylene generated 8.15 million tons but recycled only 50,000 tons, a 0.6% rate. Polystyrene generated 2.26 million tons and recycled 20,000 tons, a 0.9% rate. “Other resins” generated 4.16 million tons and recycled 1.11 million tons, for a 26.7% rate. These resin statistics are reported in the US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures.
The comparison matters because a high-performing item category does not make every product using the same broad material equally recoverable. For example, PET across total plastics in municipal solid waste had an 18.5% rate, while PET bottles and jars had a 29.1% rate. The two measurements use different category boundaries.
What post-consumer recovery looked like in 2022
The APR 2022 U.S. Post-consumer Plastic Recycling Data reports that U.S. recyclers recovered just over 5 billion pounds of post-consumer plastic for recycling in 2022. North American reclaimers acquired 93.7% of the plastic recovered for recycling in the United States, while overseas exports accounted for 6.3%.
U.S. reclaimers acquired 4,307.8 million pounds of U.S.-sourced post-consumer plastic, equal to 85.9% of the total recovered. The recovered material was distributed unevenly among formats:
- Bottles represented 2,784 million pounds, or 55.5% of total U.S. post-consumer plastic recovered for recycling.
- Non-bottle rigids represented 1,111.8 million pounds, or 22.2%.
- Film represented 1,110.3 million pounds, or 22.1%.
- Other plastics represented 11 million pounds, or 0.2%.
The year-over-year movement was mixed. Non-bottle rigid volumes rose by 40.8 million pounds in 2022. The share of non-bottle rigid plastic staying in North America rose to 93.2%, compared with 88.5% in 2021. Bottle recovery, however, fell by 107.1 million pounds year over year. These are recovery-volume and destination figures, not a total recycling rate for all plastic generated.
PET bottle collection in 2023
PET bottle collection was measured separately in the NAPCOR 2023 PET Recycling Report. After revision, the U.S. PET bottle collection rate reached 32.5% in 2023. The North American PET bottle collection rate reached 40.9%. U.S. PET bottles available for recycling totaled 6,037 million pounds, while U.S. PET bottles collected for recycling totaled 1,965 million pounds.
The same report recorded 974 million pounds of postconsumer rPET used in U.S. bottles and an average rPET content of 16.1% in U.S. bottles. It described the 2023 U.S. PET bottle collection rate as the highest in nearly three decades. The report also stated that the amount of rPET used in U.S. bottles increased from 870 million pounds in 2022 to 966 million pounds in the original 2023 report, an 11% rise.
End-market use was concentrated in bottles: 59% of U.S. and Canadian end-market rPET went to bottle applications in 2023, according to NAPCOR. The collection rate, collected pounds, recycled-content use, and end-market share are related indicators, but they are not interchangeable measures.
Global plastic recycling and future projections
The OECD Global Plastics Outlook reported that in 2019 only 9% of global plastic waste was ultimately recycled after accounting for recycling losses. Global plastic leakage into the environment reached 22 million tonnes in 2019. The United States accounted for 21% of OECD plastic waste generation and generated 221 kilograms of plastic waste per capita in that year.
Under current policies, the OECD projects that recycled plastics will make up 12% of all plastics by 2060. It also projects that plastic leakage will double to 44 million tonnes per year by 2060 and that plastic waste will almost triple by 2060. These are forecasts under a stated policy scenario, not measurements of current recycling performance.
Packaging commitments and national context
The U.S. Plastics Pact 2022 Annual Report reported that, in 2022, 47.7% of plastic packaging placed on the market by U.S. Plastics Pact activators was reusable, recyclable, or compostable. The same report gave a national U.S. recycling rate for plastic packaging of 13.3% in 2022.
It also reported that U.S. Plastics Pact activators’ plastic packaging placed on the market was 92% free of problematic and unnecessary materials by weight in 2023. Average PCR or responsibly sourced biobased content used by those activators was 9.4% in 2022.
These figures describe different scopes: activator packaging characteristics, a national plastic-packaging rate, and recycled or biobased content use. Comparing them requires keeping the population, year, and metric separate.
U.S. recycling and composting context
Across all municipal solid waste materials, the United States recycled and composted 5.61 million tons in 1960, 8.02 million in 1970, 14.52 million in 1980, and 33.24 million in 1990. The total reached 69.46 million tons in 2000, 79.79 million in 2005, 85.43 million in 2010, 90.95 million in 2015, 93.97 million in 2017, and 93.98 million tons in 2018, according to the US EPA 2018 Tables and Figures.
As a share of total municipal solid waste generation, recycling and composting represented 31.4% in 2005, 34.0% in 2010, 34.7% in 2015, 35.0% in 2017, and 32.1% in 2018. This all-material measure should not be mistaken for the plastic recycling rate: the EPA’s 2018 plastic-specific rate was 8.7%.