State of the Waste & Recycling Marketplace

Once a year, WastePlace steps back from the day-to-day and takes stock of the whole market: how much waste the country produces, who moves it, what it costs, and where an independent marketplace fits. This report is built on a simple discipline — real numbers get cited; numbers we don't have yet get labeled as missing, not faked.

The industry, in real numbers

Start with what's verifiable. The EPA reports that the United States generates 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste a year (EPA 2018, EPA Facts & Figures). Of that, just 32.1% is recycled or composted (EPA Facts & Figures). These are the EPA's own published figures — follow the links to confirm them.

The money in the system is concentrated in a handful of national haulers. Waste Management alone reported $25.20 billion in revenue for FY2025 (SEC EDGAR 10-K) — a real 10-K figure, and a hauler number, never a WastePlace number. And the rules keep moving: the Data Desk is currently tracking 20 regulation items from Federal Register and the trade press.

Every figure in this section is a real, published datapoint with its source linked. WastePlace invents no statistics.

WastePlace by the numbers — awaiting live data

Awaiting live WastePlace data. The marketplace metrics below — coverage counts and indicative rate ranges — are not yet wired to live WastePlace data. The figures shown are sample placeholders, clearly flagged, and must not be read as real WastePlace facts. They are here to show the report's shape; live numbers replace them the moment WastePlace's marketplace data is connected.

• Coverage: 10 metros in the WastePlace footprint today (estimate / awaiting live WastePlace data).
• Indicative rate ranges, booking volume, completed-job spreads, average savings vs. calling around: awaiting live WastePlace data — these will be sourced directly from the marketplace, not estimated here.

What we will not do is fill that section with invented numbers to make the report look complete. When the data is live, it goes here — cited to WastePlace's own marketplace — and not a day before.

Why a marketplace, and why now

Put the real numbers together and the picture is clear: an enormous, heavily regulated, hauler-concentrated industry where most buyers still shop by phone. That's the gap WastePlace was built to close. As the independent marketplace — not a hauler — we let customers shop real, upfront prices, choose a preferred provider, and book with just 10% down, backed by the 20% Booking Guarantee (if a provider can't fulfill, we cover up to 20% over your price for a comparable backup, or refund you in full).

Next year's edition will carry live WastePlace marketplace data in the section above. This year's is honest about what's cited and what's still coming — which is exactly the standard we hold the whole industry to.