United States
 Environmental Protection
 Agency
1  I
Municipal  Solid Waste Generation, Recycling,

and Disposal in the United  States:

Facts and Figures for  2012

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has collected and reported data on
the generation and disposal of waste in the United States for more than 30 years. We
use this information to measure the success of waste reduction and recycling programs
across the country. These facts and figures are current through calendar year 2012.
In 2012, Americans generated about 251 million tons1 of trash and recycled and
composted almost 87 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 34.5 percent
recycling rate (See Figure 1 and Figure 2). On average, Americans recycled and
composted 1.51 pounds out of our individual waste generation rate of 4.38 pounds
per person per day.
EPA is thinking beyond waste and seeking a systematic approach that provides a
transition from waste management to sustainable materials management (SMM).
In this year's report, EPA explores the connection between personal consumer
expenditures and the generation of wastes. The transition is well under way, with the
U.S. economy continuing to provide goods and services for household consumption
more efficiently when looking at the MSW generated from consuming those goods and
                services.
                  300
                                   Figure 1. MSW Generation Rates, 1960 to 2012
                    1960
                          1965
                                1970
                                       1975
                                             1980    1985


                                            • Total MSW generation
                                         1990    1995    2000


                                          ••^^ Per capita generation
                                                                           2005
                                                                                 2010  2012
                   1 U.S. short tons unless specified.

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                               Figure 2. MSW Recycling Rates, 1960 to 2012
                                                                                       50%
                                                                                       40%
                                                                                     - - 30%
                                                                                     - - 20%
                                                                                     -- 10%
           1960
                  1965
                         1970
                                1975
                                       1980     1985

                                      Total MSW recycling
1990     1995     2000

  |-Percent recycling
                                                                         2005
                                                                                2010   2012
Trends in  Municipal Solid Waste  in

2012
Our trash, or municipal solid waste (MSW), is
comprised of various items Americans commonly
throw away after being used. These include items
such as packaging, food waste, grass clippings, sofas,
computers, tires, and refrigerators. MSW does not
include industrial, hazardous, or construction waste.
In 2012, Americans recovered over 65 million tons
of MSW through recycling and over 21 million
tons through composting. We combusted about 29
million tons  for energy recovery (about 12 percent).
Subtracting out what is recycled and composted, we
combusted (with energy recovery) or discarded in
landfills 2.9 pounds per person per day of MSW
In 2012, lead-acid battery recovery was about 96
percent (2.8  million tons). Newspaper/mechanical
papers recovery was about 70 percent (5.9 million
tons), and over 57 percent of yard trimmings were recovered (19.6 million tons) (see Figure 3). About 135
million tons  of MSW (53.8 percent) were discarded in landfills in 2012 (see Figure 4).


Sources of MSW
Sources of MSW include residential waste (including waste from apartment houses) and waste from
commercial and institutional locations, such as businesses, schools, and hospitals.
   Over the last few decades, the generation,
   recycling, composting, and disposal of MSW
   have changed substantially.  Solid waste
   generation per person per day peaked in 2000
   while the 4.38 pounds per person per day is
   the lowest since the 1980's.The recycling rate
   has  increased-from less than 10 percent of
   MSW generated in 1980 to  over 34 percent
   in 2012. Disposal of waste to a landfill has
   decreased from 89 percent of the amount
   generated in 1980 to under 54 percent of MSW
   in 2012.

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                                   Figure 3. Recycling Rates of Selected Products, 2012*
     100
TO
CC.
      60
      40
      20
            Lead-Acid
            Batteries
Steel       Newspaper/      Yard
Cans    Mechanical Papers  Trimmings
Aluminum
   Beer
& Soda Cans
                                                                         Tires
  Glass
Containers
PET Bottles
  SJars
 Selected
Consumer
Electronics
  HOPE Natural
(White Translucent)
    Bottles
 *Does not include combustion with energy recovery.
                                                                  Products
                                 Figure 4. Management of MSW in the United States, 2012

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Analyzing MSW
                                                              Nationally, Americans recycled and
We analyze waste by material, such as plastics, and paper
and paperboard, and by major product categories, which          Composted almost 87 million tons of
include durable goods (such as furniture), nondurable            municipal Solid waste. This provides an
goods (such as paper or clothing), containers and                           r.  ,
    i      /    u     -ii          j   i          ^                annual benefit of  more than 168 million
packaging (such as milk cartons and plastic wrap), and
other materials (such as food waste).                             metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent
                                                              emissions reduced, comparable to the
                                                              annual GHG emissions from over 33
Total MSW generation in 2012 was 251 million tons.            million passenqer vehicles 2
Figure 5 shows the breakdown of MSW generated,
by material. Organic materials such as paper and
paperboard, yard trimmings, and food waste continue to
be the largest component of MSW. Paper and paperboard
account for over 27 percent and yard trimmings and food waste accounts for another 28 percent. Plastics
comprise about  13 percent; metals make up 9 percent; and rubber, leather, and textiles account for
almost 9 percent. Wood follows  at over 6 percent and glass at almost 5 percent. Other miscellaneous
wastes make up approximately 3 percent of the MSW generated in 2012.
Total MSW recovery in 2012 was almost 87 million tons. Paper and paperboard account for over 51
percent and yard trimmings account for over 22 percent, while food waste accounts for another 2
percent. Metals comprise about 9 percent; glass about 4 percent; and plastic and wood about 3 percent
each. Other miscellaneous materials make up about 6 percent of MSW recovery in 2012 (see Figure 6).
After MSW recovery through recycling and composting, 164 million tons of MSW were discarded in
2012. Food waste is  the largest component of discards at 21 percent. Plastics comprise about 18 percent;
paper and paperboard make up almost 15 percent; and rubber, leather, and textiles account for about 11
                                               percent of MSW discards. The other materials account
                                               for less than 10 percent each (see Figure 7).
    Recycling and composting                     c.  .fi               r      . ,  r
                                               Significant amounts ol material  Irom each category
    almost 87 million  tons Of                     were recycled or composted in 2012. The highest
    MSW saved more  than 1 1                     recovery rates were achieved in paper and paperboard,
                                               yard trimmings, and metals. Americans recycled
    quadrillion BtU of  energy;                     more than 64 percent of the paper and paperboard
    that's the same amount                       generated. Over 19 million tons of yard trimmings
                                               were composted, representing almost a five-fold
    Of energy consumed by almost 10 million        increase since 1990. Recycling these three materials
    U S  households in a year                     alone kept over 28 percent of MSW generated out of
                                               landfills and combustion facilities. Recycling amounts
                                               and rates (recovery as a percent of generation) for all
                                               materials in 2012 are listed in Table 1. This table also
                                                presents millions of tons of discarded materials.
2 All benefit calculations in this fact sheet are derived from EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM). Please see www.epa.gov/warm. All benefits information that was
 included in last year's report only took into account the C02 reduction for recycling of materials. In the report this year, we are accounting for both the recycling of
 those materials and the C02 emissions that may occur in the alternative waste management scenarios of landfilling and combustion. This gives us the net overall
 benefit of recycling these materials.

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    Figure 5. Total MSW Generation (by material), 2012
           251 Million Tons (before recycling)
                   Figure 6. Total MSW Recovery (by material), 2012
                                   87 Million Tons
                                                                    Plastics 3.2%
                                                                               Wood 2.8% Food waste 2.0%
                                                                                                     Other 5.7%
                                                 Other 3.4%
Figure 7. Total MSW Discards (by material), 2012
164 Million Tons (after recycling and composting)
             Figure 8. Total MSW Generation (by product category), 2012
                         251 Million Tons (before recycling)
        Food waste
          21.1%
                              er, leather
                              textiles
                              11.2%   '
Other 4.3%

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                       Table 1. Generation, Recovery, and Discards of Materials in MSW, 2012"
                           (in millions of tons and percent of generation of each material)
Material
Paper and paperboard
Glass
Metals
Steel
Aluminum
Other nonferrous metalst
Total metals
Plastics
Rubber and leather
Textiles
Wood
Other materials
Total materials in products
Other wastes
Food, other*
Yard trimmings
Miscellaneous inorganic wastes
Total other wastes
Total municipal solid waste
Weight
Generated
68.62
11.57

16.80
3.58
2.00
22.38
31.75
7.53
14.33
15.82
4.60
176.60

36.43
33.96
3.90
74.29
250.89
Weight
Recovered
44.36
3.20

5.55
0.71
1.36
7.62
2.80
1.35
2.25
2.41
1.30
65.29

1.74
19.59
Negligible
21.33
86.62
Recovery as Percent
of Generation
64.6%
27.7%

33.0%
19.8%
68.0%
34.0%
8.8%
17.9%
1 5.7%
1 5.2%
28.3%
37.0%

4.8%
57.7%
Negligible
28.7%
34.5%
Weight
Discarded
24.26
8.37

11.25
2.87
0.64
14.76
28.95
6.18
12.08
13.41
3.30
111.31

34.69
14.37
3.90
52.96
164.27
*  Includes waste from residential, commercial, and institutional sources.
t  Includes lead from lead-acid batteries.
$  Includes recovery of other MSW organics for composting.
   Details might not add to totals due to rounding.
   Negligible = Less than 5,000 tons or 0.05 percent.
   Materials and Products
   We track both materials and products. Materials are what products are made of and will ultimately be what
   is recovered and be reprocessed in the recycling process.  Examples are metals and plastic. Products are
   what people buy and handle.  Products are manufactured out of materials. Examples include packaging and
   newspapers. We track products to learn  how people are consuming, using, and  discarding materials. This
   information allows us to target activities that will ultimately maximize the recovery of materials.

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Products in MSW
The breakdown of MSW generated in 2012 by product
category is shown in Figure 8. Containers and packaging
made up the largest portion of MSW generated: 30 percent,
or over 75 million tons. The second largest portion came
from nondurable goods, which amounted to over 20 percent,
or about 51 million tons. Durable goods make up the third
largest segment, accounting for about 20 percent, or 50
million tons.
                                                             Recycling Trends
                                                             In percentage of total MSW generation,
                                                             recycling (including composting) did not
                                                             exceed 15 percent until 1990. Growth
                                                             in the recycling rate was significant over
                                                             the next 15 years. The recycling rate has
                                                             grown more slowly over the last five
                                                             years.
The generation, recovery, and discards of materials in the
product categories, by weight and recovery as a percent of
generation, are shown in Table 2. This table shows that the
recovery of containers and packaging was the highest of the
four product categories, with over 51 percent of the generated
materials recycled. Paper products, steel, and aluminum were the most recycled materials by percentage
in this category. Over 76 percent of paper and paperboard containers and packaging was recycled. Over 72
percent of steel packaging (mostly cans) was recycled. The recycling rate for aluminum packaging was 38
percent, including almost 55 percent of aluminum beverage cans.
Over 34 percent of glass containers were recycled while about 25 percent of wood packaging, mostly
wood pallets, was recovered. About 14 percent of plastic containers and packaging were recycled,
mostly from soft drink, milk, and water bottles. Plastic bottles were the most recycled plastic products.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and jars were recovered at about 31 percent. Recovery of high
density polyethylene (HDPE) natural (white translucent) bottles was also estimated at over 28 percent
(see 2012 MSW full data tables).
Overall recovery of nondurable goods was about 34 percent in 2012. Nondurable goods generally last
less than three years. Newspapers/mechanical papers and other paper products were the most recycled
nondurable goods. Newspapers/mechanical papers include newspapers, directories, inserts, and
some  advertisement and direct mail printing. Seventy percent of newspapers/mechanical papers were
recovered. Collectively, the recovery of other paper products such as office paper and magazines was over
43 percent in 2012.  Clothing, footwear, and other textile products are included in the nondurable goods
category. These products were recovered for recycling at a rate of over  16 percent.
Overall, more than 18 percent of durable goods was recovered in 2012. Nonferrous metals other than
aluminum had one of the highest recovery rates due to the high rate of lead recovery from lead-acid
batteries. With an almost  96 percent recycling rate, lead-acid batteries continue to be one of the most
recovered products.  Recovery of steel in all durable goods was 27 percent, with high rates of recovery
from appliances and other miscellaneous items. Recovery of selected consumer electronics was 29% (see
2012 MSW full data tables).
Measured by percentage of generation, products with the
highest recovery rates in 2012 were lead-acid batteries (96
percent), corrugated boxes (91 percent), steel cans (71 percent),
newspapers/mechanical papers (70 percent), major appliances
(64 percent), yard trimmings (58 percent), aluminum cans (55
percent), tires (45 percent), and mixed paper (43 percent) (see
2012 MSW full data tables).
                                                                 Every ton of mixed paper recycled
                                                                 can save the
                                                                 energy equivalent
                                                                 of 165 gallons of
                                                                 gasoline.

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                            Table 2. Generation, Recovery, and Discards of Products in MSW, 2012*
                                (in millions of tons and percent of generation of each product)
Products
Durable goods
Steel
Aluminum
Other non-ferrous metals*
Glass
Plastics
Rubber and leather
Wood
Textiles
Other materials
Total durable goods
Nondurable goods
Paper and paperboard
Plastics
Rubber and leather
Textiles
Other materials
Total nondurable goods
Containers and packaging
Steel
Aluminum
Glass
Paper and paperboard
Plastics
Wood
Other materials
Total containers and packaging
Other wastes
Food, other*
Yard trimmings
Miscellaneous inorganic wastes
Total other wastes
Total municipal solid waste
Weight
Generated

14.57
1.52
2.00
2.19
11.46
6.52
6.16
3.88
1.73
50.03

30.60
6.51
1.01
10.15
3.07
51.34

2.23
1.87
9.38
38.01
13.78
9.66
0.30
75.23

36.43
33.96
3.90
74.29
250.89
Weight
Recovered

3.94
Not Available
1.36
Negligible
0.77
1.35
Negligible
0.55
1.30
9.27

15.44
0.13
Negligible
1.70
Negligible
17.27

1.61
0.71
3.20
28.92
1.90
2.41
Negligible
38.75

1.74
19.59
Negligible
21.33
86.62
Recovery as Percent
of Generation

27.0%
Not Available
68.0%
Negligible
6.7%
20.7%
Negligible
14.2%
75.6%
18.5%

50.5%
2.0%
Negligible
16.7%
Negligible
33.6%

72.2%
38.0%
34.1%
76.1%
13.8%
24.9%
Negligible
51.5%

4.8%
57.7%
Negligible
28.7%
34.5%
Weight
Discarded

10.63
1.52
0.64
2.19
10.69
5.17
6.16
3.33
0.42
40.76

15.16
6.38
1.01
8.45
3.07
34.07

0.62
1.16
6.18
9.09
11.88
7.25
0.30
36.48

34.69
14.37
3.90
52.96
164.27
Includes waste from residential, commercial, and institutional sources.
Includes lead from lead-acid batteries.
Includes recovery of other MSW organics for composting.
Details might not add to totals due to rounding.
Negligible = less than 5,000 tons or 0.05 percent.

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Disposing of MSW
While the number of U.S. landfills has steadily declined
over the years, the average landfill size has increased. At
the national level, landfill capacity appears to be sufficient
for our current disposal practices, although it is limited in
some areas.
• Since 1990, the total amount of MSW going to landfills
  dropped by over 11 million tons, from 145.3 million to
  135.0 million tons in 2012 (see Table 3).
• The net per capita discard rate to landfills (after
  recycling, composting, and combustion for energy
  recovery) was 2.36 pounds per day, lower than the 3.19
  per capita rate in 1990 (see Table 4).
Composting Collection Programs3
•  About 3,120 community composting
   programs were documented in 2012,
   a decrease from 3,227 in 2002.
•  Over 2.4 million households were
   served with food waste composting
   collection programs in 2012.
     Table 3. Generation, Materials Recovery, Composting, Combustion With Energy Recovery, and Discards of MSW,
                                       1960 to 2012 (in millions of tons)
Activity
Generation
Recovery for
recycling
Recovery for
composting*
Total materials
recovery
Discards after
recovery
Combustion
with energy
recoveryt
Discards to
landfill, other
disposal*
1960
88.1
5.6

Negligible

5.6

82.5

0.0


82.5


1970
121.1
8.0

Negligible

8.0

113.0

0.4


112.6


1980
151.6
14.5

Negligible

14.5

137.1

2.7


134.4


1990
208.3
29.0

4.2

33.2

175.0

29.7


145.3


2000
243.5
53.0

16.5

69.5

174.0

33.7


140.3


2005
253.7
59.2

20.6

79.8

173.9

31.6


142.3


2008
252.5
61.9

22.1

84.0

168.5

31.6


136.9


2010
250.4
65.0

20.2

85.2

165.3

29.3


136.0


2011
250.4
66.3

20.6

86.9

163.5

29.3


134.2


2012
250.9
65.3

21.3

86.6

164.3

29.3


135.0


          Composting of yard trimmings, food waste, and other MSW organic material. Does not include backyard composting.
          Includes combustion of MSW in mass burn or refuse-derived fuel form, and combustion with energy recovery of source separated materials in MSW
          (e.g., wood pallets, tire-derived fuel).
          Discards after recovery minus combustion with energy recovery. Discards include combustion without energy recovery.
          Details might not add to totals due to rounding.
   3 Source: For 2002 data: BioCyde 2006.
         For 2012 data: EPA, Municipal Sol id Waste in the United States: 2012 data tables and BioCyde, 2013.

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                Table 4. Generation, Materials Recovery, Composting, Combustion With Energy Recovery,
                         and Discards of MSW, 1960 to 2012 (in pounds per person per day)
Activity
Generation
Recovery for
recycling
1960
2.68
0.17

1970
3.25
0.22

Recovery for Negligible Negligible
composting*
Total Materials
Recovery
Discards after
recovery
Combustion
with energy
recoveryt
Discards to
landfill, other
disposal*
Population
(millions)

0.17

2.51

0.00


2.51


179.979


0.22

3.03

0.01


3.02


203.984

1980
3.66
0.35

Negligible

0.35

3.31

0.07


3.24


227.255

1990
4.57
0.64

0.09

0.73

3.84

0.65


3.19


249.907

2000
4.74
1.03

0.32

1.35

3.39

0.66


2.73


281.422

2005
4.69
1.10

0.38

1.48

3.21

0.58


2.63


296.410

2008
4.55
1.12

0.40

1.52

3.03

0.57


2.46


304.060

2010
2011
4.44 4.40
1.15

0.36

1.51

2.93

0.52


2.41


309.051

1.17

0.36

1.53

2.87

0.51


2.36


311.592

2012
4.38
1.14

0.37

1.51

2.87

0.51


2.36


313.914

          Composting of yard trimmings, food waste, and other MSW organic material. Does not include backyard composting.
          Includes combustion of MSW in mass burn or refuse-derived fuel form, and combustion with energy recovery of source separated materials in MSW (e.g.,
          wood pallets, tire-derived fuel).
          Discards after recovery minus combustion with energy recovery. Discards include combustion without energy recovery.
          Details might not add to totals due to rounding.
   The  Benefits of Recycling
   Recycling has environmental benefits at every stage in the life cycle of a consumer product—from the
   raw material with which it's made to its final method of disposal. By utilizing used, unwanted, or obsolete
   materials as industrial feedstocks or for new materials or products, Americans can each do our part to
   make recycling, including composting work. Aside from reducing GHG emissions, which contribute to
   global warming, recycling, including composting also provides significant economic and job creation
   impacts.
   The energy and GHG benefits of recycling and composting shown in Table 5 are calculated using
   EPA's WARM methodology (see: www.epa.gov/warm). WARM calculates and totals  GHG emissions of
   baseline and alternative waste management practices, including source reduction, recycling, composting,
   combustion, and landfilling. Paper and paperboard recovery at about 44 million tons resulted in a
   reduction of 130 MMTCO2E in 2012.  This is equivalent to removing 27 million cars from the road in one
   year.
   In 2012, nationally, we recycled and composted almost 87 million tons of MSW. This provides an annual
   benefit of more than 168 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions reduced, comparable
   to removing the emissions from over 33 million passenger vehicles from the road in one year.
10

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               Table 5. Greenhouse Gas Benefits Associated with Recovery of Specific Materials, 2012*
             (in millions of tons recovered, MMTC02E and in numbers of cars taken off the road per year)
Material
Paper and paperboard
Glass
Metals
Steel
Aluminum
Other nonferrous metalst
Total metals
Plastics
Rubber and leather*
Textiles
Wood
Other wastes
Food, otherA
Yard trimmings
Weight Recovered
(millions of tons)
44.4
3.20

5.55
0.71
1.36
7.62
2.80
1.35
2.25
2.41

1.74
19.6
GHG Benefits
MMTC02E
130.5
1

9
6.3
5.3
20.6
3.2
0.7
5.7
4.2

1.4
0.8
Numbers of Cars Taken Off
the Road per Year
27 million
210 thousand

1.9 million
1.3 million
1.1 million
4.3 million
670 thousand
145 thousand
1.2 million
900 thousand

290 thousand
1 70 thousand
  *     Includes materials from residential, commercial, and institutional sources.
        These calculations do not include an additional 1.30 million tons of MSW recovered that could not be addressed in the WARM model. MMTC02E is million
        metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
        All benefits information that was included in last year's report only took into account the C02 reduction for recycling of materials. In the report this year, we
        are accounting for both the recycling of those materials and the C02 emissions that may occur in the alternative waste management scenarios of landfilling
        and combustion. This gives us the net overall benefit of recycling these materials.
  t     Includes lead from lead-acid batteries. Other nonferrous metals calculated in WARM as mixed metals.
  $     Recovery only includes rubber from tires.
  A     Includes recovery of other MSW organics for composting.
  Source: WARM model  (www.epa.gov/warm)
MSW Generation and Household  Spending
Over the years, the change in the amount of MSW generated has typically imitated trends in how much
money American households spend on goods and services. Personal Consumer Expenditures (PCE)
measures U.S. household spending on goods and services such as food, clothing, vehicles, and recreation
services. PCE accounts for approximately 70 percent of
U.S. Gross Domestic Product, a key indicator of economic
growth. PCE adjusted for inflation is referred to as real
PCE. This is a more useful metric in making comparisons
over time because it normalizes the  value of a dollar by
considering how much a dollar could purchase in the past
versus today. Figure 9 explores the relationship between
MSW generated and real PCE since  1960.
Figure 9 is an indexed graph showing the relative changes
in real PCE, MSW generated, and MSW generated per capita
Recycling just 1 ton of aluminum cans
conserves more than 153 million Btu,
the equivalent of 26
barrels of oil, or  1,665
gallons of gasoline.
                                                                                                            11

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                      Figure 9. Indexed MSW Generated and Real PCE over Time (1960-2012)
           6.00
           0.00
             1960     1965     1970    1975     1980     1985     1990     1995     2000     2005     2010  2012

                      +  Real PCE            —•—MSW Generated               A MSW Generated per Capita
   over time. It is indexed to allow all three of these metrics to be shown on the same graph and compare
   their relative rates of change since 1960. The indexed value indicates the change in the value of the data
   since 1960.  For example, if for a given year the value is three then the data value for that year would
   be three times the 1960 value. In this case, if the 1960 value was 200 then the resulting year's value
   would be 600. The 2012 MSW per capita generation indexed value is 1.6 which means MSW per capita
   generation has increased by 60 percent since 1960.
   Figure 9 shows that real PCE has increased at a faster rate than MSW generation, and the disparity has
   become even more distinct since the mid 1990s. This indicates the amount of MSW generated per dollar
   spent is falling. In other words, our economy has been able to enjoy dramatic increases in household
   spending on consumer goods and services without this being at the expense of the societal impact of
   similarly increasing MSW generation rates. This figure also
   shows that the MSW generated per capita leveled off in the
   early- to mid-2000s and has fallen since then. This is important
   because as population continues to grow, it will be necessary
   for MSW generated per capita to continue to fall to maintain or
   decrease the total amount of MSW generated as a country.
Energy Recovered from
Waste Combustion
  Thinking  Beyond Waste
  EPA is helping change the way our society protects the
  environment and conserves resources for future generations
  by thinking beyond recycling, composting, and disposal.
  Building on the familiar concept of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,
  the Agency is employing a systemic approach that seeks to
  reduce materials use and associated environmental impacts over
  their entire life cycle, called sustainable materials management
•  In 2012, over 29 million tons of
   materials, or 11.7 percent, were
   combusted for energy recovery.
•  MSW combustion for energy
   recovery has decreased from
   about 34 million tons in 2000 to
   29 million tons in 2012.
12

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(SMM). This starts with extraction of natural resources and material processing through product design
and manufacturing then the product use stage followed by collection/processing and final end of life
(disposal). By examining how materials are used throughout their life cycle, an SMM approach seeks to
use materials in the most productive way with an emphasis on using less; reducing toxic chemicals and
environmental impacts throughout the material's life cycle; and assuring we have sufficient resources
to meet today's needs and those of the future. Data on municipal solid waste generation, recycling and
disposal is an important starting point for the full SMM approach.


Resources
The data summarized in this fact sheet characterizes the MSW stream as a whole by using a materials
flow methodology that relies on a mass balance approach. For example, to determine the amounts of
paper recycled, information is gathered on the amounts processed by paper mills and made  into new
paper on a national basis plus recycled paper exported, instead of counting paper collected for recycling
on a state-by-state basis. Using data gathered from industry associations, businesses, and government
sources, such as the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Census Bureau, we estimate tons
of materials and products generated, recycled, and discarded. Other sources of data, such as waste
characterizations and research reports performed by governments, industry, or the press, supplement
these data.
The benefits of recycling and composting, such as elimination of GHG emissions, are calculated using
EPA's WARM methodology. WARM calculates and totals GHG emissions of baseline  and alternative
waste management practices including source reduction,  recycling, composting, combustion, and
landfilling. The model calculates emissions in metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE), metric tons of
carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2E), and energy units (million Btu) across a wide  range of material
types commonly found in MSW.  EPA developed GHG emissions reduction factors through a life-cycle
assessment methodology. Please see: www.epa.gov/warm.
Full data tables on MSW characterization that support this Report and Summaries of the MSW
characterization methodology and WARM are available on the EPA website along with information about
waste reduction and recycling. Please see:
www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/msw99.htm
www. ep a. go v/r ecy cle
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5306P)
Washington, DC 20460

Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300

EPA-530-F-14-001
February 2014
www.epa.gov/wastes

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