Recycling & Diversion in America: The Numbers
"We recycle" is a national habit, but the published number is more sobering than the habit suggests. According to the EPA, the United States recycled or composted just 32.1% of its municipal solid waste in 2018 (EPA Facts & Figures). That isn't a figure we estimated — it's the EPA's own headline diversion rate, and it links straight to the source above.
The numbers, cited
- 32.1% of U.S. municipal solid waste recycled or composted — the national diversion rate (EPA 2018, EPA Facts & Figures)
- 32.1% recycled specifically (EPA 2018, EPA Facts & Figures)
- 69.1 million tons recycled by weight (EPA 2018, EPA Facts & Figures)
- 24.9 million tons composted by weight (EPA 2018, EPA Facts & Figures)
- 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in total — the denominator (EPA 2018, EPA Facts & Figures)
Every figure here comes directly from the EPA's "Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling" dataset — follow any link to verify it. WastePlace does not invent waste statistics; the only computed value on this page is the "not recovered" share, which is simply 100% minus the EPA's published 32.1% rate.
What the diversion rate actually says
Read it the other way and it lands harder: roughly 67.9% of U.S. municipal solid waste is not recycled or composted — it's landfilled, combusted, or otherwise disposed of. The diversion rate isn't a feel-good statistic; it's a measure of how much value the country throws away.
Recovery isn't one thing — it's two. Of the waste the country keeps out of landfills, the EPA counts 69.1 million tons as recycled and 24.9 million tons as composted (EPA Facts & Figures). Recycling handles paper, metal, glass, and plastics; composting handles food scraps and yard trimmings. A provider that does both well moves more of your waste into the recovered column.
Where the rate becomes your decision
National rates are set one job at a time. The recurring recycling pickup you set up, the construction debris you route to a provider who actually sorts it, the food-waste stream a restaurant sends to compost instead of the landfill — each of those is a single choice, and all of them add up to the EPA's 32.1%.
WastePlace is built for that choice. As the independent marketplace — not a hauler — we let you shop real, upfront prices, compare vetted providers including recycling-forward ones, and choose your preferred provider on fit, not just price. You book with just 10% down, and the 20% Booking Guarantee has your back if a provider can't fulfill. You can't move the national diversion rate by yourself — but you can move your own, one booking at a time.