It's Working

Proof that It's Worth All the Effort
Recycling is one of the most successful environmental initiatives in our country's history. While there's still much to do, efforts of the past few decades are really paying off.

Around half of all the people in the United States are now served by curbside collection programs. These programs, along with drop-off and buy-back centers, now help us divert about 33% of the nation's solid waste stream away from landfills.

Here are some more encouraging facts from the EPA that illustrate the progress we're making.

Recycling Facts and Figures

• Twenty years ago, only one curbside recycling program existed in the United States. Today, there are more than 10,000 curbside programs in the United States.

• Today, the U.S. recycles 33% of its waste, a rate that has almost doubled during the past 15 years.

• Recycling saves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. If the recycling rate for aluminum and steel cans, plastic PET and glass containers, newsprint and corrugated packaging were to increase a mere 10%, an additional 3.9 million tons of materials would be recycled, saving enough energy to:

• Heat 1.5 million American homes in a moderate climate for one year.

• Provide the required electricity to 1.8 million Americans for one year.

• Save Americans about $957 million in avoided costs for barrels of crude oil.

Municipal Solid Waste Facts and Figures
Get additional charts and statistics on recycling, both nationally and by state. 

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