Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling

Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures

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National Key Facts and Figures in the United States
U.S. State and Local Waste and Materials Characterization Reports

National Key Facts and Figures in the United States

Each year, EPA produces a report called Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Fact Sheet, formerly called Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: Facts and Figures. It includes information on municipal solid waste (MSW) generation, recycling, combustion with energy recovery and landfilling. The fact sheet also includes information on Construction and Demolition Debris generation, which is outside of the scope of MSW.

Read the Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Fact Sheet

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U.S. State and Local Waste and Materials Characterization Reports

EPA maintains a list of state and local waste characterization studies; reports are not available for all states. You can search for your state in the table below.

For additions, changes or updates, please send new reports to ORCRMeasurement@epa.gov. Most reports exit EPA’s website.The following links exit the site Exit

State	Reports
Alabama	Alabama: Economic Impact of Recycling in Alabama and Opportunities for Growth (2012) (PDF)(16 pp, 309 K, About PDF)
Alaska	Alaska: Fairbanks North Star Borough Recycling Plan & Analysis, June 12, 2015 (16 pp, 1.1 MB, About PDF)
Arizona	Arizona: City of Phoenix Waste Characterization Study (2015)(196 pp, 9.5 MB, About PDF)
Arkansas	State of Recycling in Arkansas
California	Cal Recycle Waste Characterization Studies Listing
Colorado	2018 Colorado Waste Composition Study (5 pp, 37.7 KB, About PDF) Colorado: Boulder County Waste Composition Study (2019) (PDF) (62 pp, 3.8 MB, About PDF) Colorado: Larimer County 2016 Waste Composition and Characterization Analysis (PDF)(58 pp, 6.0 MB, About PDF)
Connecticut	Connecticut: 2015 Statewide Waste Characterization Study (PDF) (160 pp, 3.81 MB, About PDF)
Delaware	Delaware Solid Waste Authority Statewide Waste Characterization Study, FY 2016 (PDF)(68 pp, 1.45 MB, About PDF)
District of Columbia	Washington, DC Public Reports on Recycling
Florida	Florida Solid Waste and Recycling Annual Reporting
Georgia	Georgia Statewide Waste Characterization Study (2005) (PDF) (216 pp, 4.45 MB, About PDF)
Hawaii	Hawaii: City and County of Honolulu Waste Characterization Study (2006) (PDF)(58 pp, 227 K, About PDF)
Idaho	No Report Available
Illinois	Illinois: Chicago Department of Environment Waste Characterization Study (2010) (PDF)(340 pp, 3.21 MB, About PDF) Illinois: Commodity/Waste Generation and Characterization Study (2015) (PDF)(323 pp, 9.3 MB, About PDF)
Indiana	Indiana's new waste characterization study (2012) (PDF)(165 pp, 5.78 MB, About PDF)
Iowa	Iowa: Statewide Waste Characterization Study (2017) (PDF)(118 pp, 1.5 MB, About PDF)
Kansas	Kansas: 2016 StateSolid WasteManagement Plan (PDF)(40 pp, 2.0 MB, About PDF)
Kentucky	Kentucky: Division of Waste Management Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Report(64 pp, 4.1 MB, About PDF) Kentucky: Louisville Solid Waste Study Report January 2018
Louisiana	No Report Available
Maine	Maine: Residential Waste Characterization Study (2011) (PDF) (30 pp, 463 K, About PDF) Maine Solid Waste Generation andDisposal Capacity Report: Calendar Year 2014 (32 pp, 483 K, About PDF)
Maryland	Maryland Solid Waste Management and Diversion Report - 2017 (for 2016 Data) (PDF)(83 pp, 2.98 MB, About PDF)
Massachusetts	Massachusetts: Waste Characterization Data Summary (2011) Recycling & Solid Waste Data for Massachusetts Cities & Towns
Michigan	Michigan: Economic Impact Potential and Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in Michigan(202 pp, 3.9 MB, About PDF)
Minnesota	Minnesota: City of Red Wing Solid Waste Composition Study: Solid Waste Boiler Facility (2009) (PDF) (61 pp, 5.32 MB, About PDF) Minnesota: Perham Resource Recovery Facility: Solid Waste Composition Study (2012) (PDF) (62 pp, 4.5 Mv, About PDF) Minnesota: Solid Waste Composition Study: Covanta Hennepin Energy Resource Company (2012) (PDF) (27 pp, 685 Kb Mb, About PDF) Minnesota Statewide Waste Characterization Study (2013) (PDF) (59 pp, 1.66 Mb, About PDF) Broader Information on the Minnesota MSW Composition Study
Mississippi	Mississippi: Status Report on Solid Waste Management Facilities and Activities (2017) (PDF)(66 pp, 13.8 MB, About PDF)
Missouri	Missouri: 2016-2017 Waste Composition Study
Montana	Montana: 2018 Integrated Waste Management Plan(37 pp, 942 K, About PDF) Montana: Recycling Statistics
Nebraska	Nebraska: State Waste Characterization Study (2009) (PDF)(2175 pp, 6.41 MB, About PDF)
Nevada	State of Nevada Solid Waste Management Plan 2017 (50 pp, 953 K, About PDF)
New Hampshire	Biennial Solid Waste Report, October 2019 (23 pp, 509 K, About PDF)
New Jersey	No Report Available
New Mexico	Solid Waste Management Plan (2015)(34 pp, 1.5 MB, About PDF)
New York	State Solid Waste Management Plan (2010) New York: NYC Residential, School, and NYCHA Waste Characterization Study (PDF)(68 pp, 11.1 MB, About PDF)
North Carolina	North Carolina: Solid Waste Management Annual Reports North Carolina: Orange County Waste Sort Data North Carolina: Orange County Waste Composition Study (2017)
North Dakota	No Report Available
Ohio	Ohio: Economic Impact Potential of Recycling in Ohio, 2019 (76 pp, 4.3 MB, About PDF) Ohio: Hamilton County Waste Composition Study, 2018 Ohio Waste Characterization Study (2004) (PDF)(319 pp, 1.64 MB, About PDF)
Oklahoma	Oklahoma: Annual Solid Waste Tonnage Report (2019)(2 pp, 93 K, About PDF)
Oregon	Oregon: Recycling Characterization and Composition Study 2016/2017
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania: 2016 County Recycled Materials Report (PDF)(17 pp, 816 K, About PDF) Pennsylvania: Statewide Waste Composition Study (2003) (PDF) (175 pp, 2.81 MB, About PDF)
Rhode Island	Rhode Island Solid Waste Characterization Study (PDF)(58 pp, 2.05 MB, About PDF)
South Carolina	South Carolina Solid Waste Management 2019 Report (PDF)(102 pp, 4.72 MB, About PDF) The Economic Impact of the Recycling Industry in South Carolina (PDF)(12 pp, 1.13 MB, About PDF)
South Dakota	State of South Dakota Recycling/Diversion Report 2011 (17 pp, 673 K, About PDF)
Tennessee	Tennessee: Waste Characterization Study (2008) Tennessee: Analysis of Tennessee’s Household Generated Waste (2015)(23 pp, 1.0 MB, About PDF)
Texas	Annual Summary of Municipal Solid Waste Management in Texas
Utah	No Report Available
Vermont	Vermont Waste Characterization (2018) (PDF)(53 pp, 1.31 MB, About PDF) Vermont: Waste Composition Study (2013) (PDF)(44 pp, 1.47 MB, About PDF)
Virginia	Virginia Annual Recycling Summary Report 2017 (PDF)(10 pp, 546 K, About PDF)
Washington	Washington Seattle Waste Composition Studies Washington: Statewide Waste Characterization Study (2015-2016) (PDF)(157 pp, 2.3 MB About PDF) Washington: Statewide Waste Characterization Study (2015-2016) (PDF)(157 pp, 2.3 MB About PDF) Washington: Thurston County Waste Composition Study (2013-2014) (PDF)(145 pp, 1.4 MB About PDF) Washington: Seattle Public Utilities Waste Composition Studies Washington: King County Residentual Curbside Characterization, October 2018 (PDF)(89 pp, 1.3 MB About PDF)
West Virginia	West Virginia Solid Waste Management Plan 2019 (PDF)(212 pp, 5.43 MB, About PDF)
Wisconsin	Wisconsin: State-wide Waste Characterization Study (2009) (PDF)(112 pp, 220 MB About PDF) Wisconsin: Statewide Waste Characterization Study (2003) (PDF)(114 pp, 738 K About PDF) Wisconsin: Waste Characterization and Management Study Update (2002) (PDF)(47 pp, 182 K About PDF)
Wyoming	Wyoming Solid Waste Diversion Study, January 3, 2013(179 pp, 4.3 MB About PDF)
International Reports	Canada - Metro Vancouver 2015 Waste Composition Monitoring Program (PDF)(71 pp, 8.2 MB About PDF)

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