Recycling Statistics

Recycling Statistics

Statistics for recycling are important in monitoring the awareness and ability of individuals to be proactive.

recycling statistics

It is also important in determining which regions are taking an active role in helping the environment by recycling the most amount of their rubbish.

Statistics vary from one location to another because each location has a different population and recycling activity.

Our hope is that these stats will help increase awareness among people and will encourage them to do their own part in saving the planet by recycling.

This information serves to solidify why recycling is important.

The following are some recycling statistics which are organized by location:

Recycling Statistics / Australia

There was an 825% increase of recycling for all types of waste between 1996-1997 and 2002-2003.

69% of the total waste was generated for recycling in the Australian Capital Territory in 2002-2003 followed by 63% for South Australia and 51% for Victoria.
12 million tonnes of solid waste was generated by the people in New South Wales in 2002-2003 and almost half of it was recycled.
Also in 2002-2003, 8.6 million tonnes of waste was generated by the Victorians and 51 % of that waste was recycled.
Australians recycled 500,000 of the 685,000 tonnes of newsprint that they used in 2002. That amount is equivalent to around one billion newspapers.
48,500 tonnes of steel cans was recycled in 2002.
In 2002, over 31,000 tonnes aluminum drink cans were recycled.
About 320,000 tonnes of glass jars and bottles were recycled in 2002.
Approximately 95% of Australian households recycled waste while roughly 83% re-used wastes in March 2003.
About 400 kilograms of waste is produced by each Australian household every year.
88% of Australian households recycle paper or cardboards.

Austria

Austria is the leading recycler in the European Union with an approximate amount of 60% of waste products being recycled.

Greece

Only 10% of Greece’s total waste is being recycled and the remaining 90% goes to landfills.

United Kingdom

17.7% is the estimate on the amount of rubbish UK is recycling.

The proportion of United Kingdom’s household waste that is being recycled is increasing.
In 2006-2007 household recycling rates were at 30.9% and almost 8 million tonnes of waste were sent for recycling or composting compared to the recorded 2.8 million tonnes in 2000-2001.
Compost is the largest contributor of United Kingdom’s recyclable waste, which is at 36%.

Recycling Statistics / United States

82 million tons of materials are recycled in the United States.
53.4 % of all paper products are being recycled.
There is about 100% increase in the total recycling in the United States during the past decade.
Each person produces 4.6 lbs. of trash per day in the United States.
In 2005, roughly 8,550 curbside recycling programs existed throughout the United States. 8,875 programs existed in 2003.
United States recycles about 32% of its waste today.
An average American produced 800 kilograms of rubbish in the year 2005, compared to only 577 kilograms per person in Western Europe.