Global Impact & Economics
Actual recycling rates by material, China National Sword impact, microplastics crisis, carbon lifecycle analysis, and the economics of recycling.
US Recycling Rates by Material
| Material | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lead-acid batteries | 99% | Most recycled consumer product. Legally required take-back in most states. |
| Steel cans | 80% | Magnetic sorting makes steel easy to recover from mixed waste streams. |
| Aluminum cans | 73% | High value drives collection. Worth $1,500+/ton vs. $50/ton for glass. |
| Cardboard | 73% | High value, easy to collect in commercial settings. Rate dropped post-National Sword. |
| Paper | 68% | Includes newspaper, office paper, magazines. Declining as print media shrinks. |
| Major appliances | 60% | High steel content makes recovery economically attractive. |
| Tires | 43% | Often burned for fuel (tire-derived fuel) rather than truly recycled. |
| Glass | 31% | Declining. Heavy, low value, breaks and contaminates other recyclables. |
| PET bottles (#1) | 29% | Bottle deposit states see 2-3x higher rates than non-deposit states. |
| HDPE bottles (#2) | 29% | Similar to PET. Natural HDPE more valuable than colored. |
| Yard waste | 27% | Composting and mulching programs expanding in many municipalities. |
| All plastics | 5% | The headline number. Down from 9% in 2018 due to export market collapse. |
| Textiles | 15% | Most discarded textiles go to landfill despite being reusable/recyclable. |
| Food waste | 5% | Composting programs growing but still limited. Largest landfill component. |
International Recycling Rates
| Country | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 56% | |
| South Korea | 54% | |
| Austria | 53% | |
| Slovenia | 53% | |
| Belgium | 50% | |
| Japan | 44% | |
| United Kingdom | 43% | |
| United States | 32% | |
| China | 20% | |
| India | 12% |
Carbon Savings from Recycling
- : 10 tons CO2e
- : 3.3 tons CO2e
- : 1.8 tons CO2e
- : 0.3 tons CO2e
- : 1.5 tons CO2e
- : 0.75 tons CO2e
China's National Sword Policy
In January 2018, China implemented the "National Sword" policy, banning imports of 24 categories of recyclable materials and setting contamination limits at 0.5% (down from 1.5%). This was one of the most significant disruptions in global recycling history.