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EPA releases 2009 waste disposal data

Containers and packaging make up the largest portion of MSW generated by weight: almost 30%, or about 72 million tons.

iStock_recycle_waste
iStock_recycle_waste

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  has released its annual report for 2009 on municipal solid waste in the U.S., which includes a wealth of information on national recycling and composting trends. In 2009, Americans generated about 243 million tons of trash and recycled and composted 82 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 33.8% recycling rate. On average, Americans recycled and composted 1.46 lb of their individual waste generation of 4.34 lb per person per day.

Trash, or municipal solid waste (MSW) includes items such as packaging, food scraps, grass clippings, sofas, computers, tires, and refrigerators. MSW does not include industrial, hazard¬ous, or construction waste. In 209, about 132 million tons of MSW (54.3%) were discarded in landfills in 2009.

At the same time, Americans recovered about 61 million tons of MSW (excluding composting) through recycling. Com¬posting recovered about 21 million tons of waste. About 29 million tons of waste were combusted for energy recovery (about 12%).

In 2009, metals were recycled at a rate of about 34.5%. By recycling more than 7 million tons of metals (which includes aluminum, steel, and mixed metals), Americans eliminated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions totaling about 25 million metric tons of carbon diox¬ide equivalent (MMTCO2E). This is equivalent to removing almost 5 million cars from the road for one year.

Materials in MSW

The EPA analyzes waste by material, such as paper and paperboard, yard trimmings, food scraps, and plastics, and by major product categories, which include durable goods (such as furniture), nondurable goods (such as paper or clothing), containers and packaging (such as milk cartons and plastic wrap), and other materials (such as food scraps).

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