<div dir="ltr"><img src="cid:ii_m6gv7rgp1" alt="image.png" width="196" height="75" style="margin-right: 0px;"><br><div>This may be of interest to you if you want to see some national data on recycling. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><img src="cid:ii_m6gv3zmd0" alt="image.png" width="448" height="130"><br></div><div><div class="gmail-rwh_post_inner_box" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border-radius:8px;border:0px solid rgb(0,0,0);background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0);color:rgb(33,37,41);font-family:"Open Sans",None,Arial;font-size:14px"><h1 class="gmail-rwh_post_title entry-title" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-family:"Open Sans",Arial;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(7,127,76);font-size:24px;background-repeat:repeat;background-color:transparent"><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2025/01/28/us-epa-shares-new-recycling-rate-estimates/" title="Permalink to US EPA shares new recycling rate estimates" rel="bookmark" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(7,127,76);text-decoration-line:none;background-color:transparent;background-repeat:repeat">US EPA shares new recycling rate estimates</a></h1></div><div class="gmail-rwh_article" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:"Open Sans",Arial;color:rgb(179,179,179)"><div class="gmail-postedon" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"><span class="gmail-meta" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Published: January 28, 2025<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Updated: </span>January 28, 2025<br style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"><span class="gmail-meta" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">by </span><span class="gmail-author gmail-vcard" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;float:none;max-width:74px"><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/author/marissa/" title="View all posts by Marissa Heffernan" class="gmail-url gmail-fn gmail-n" rel="author" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent;vertical-align:middle">Marissa Heffernan</a></span></div><div class="gmail-postcontent entry-content" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0);border-radius:0px;border:0px solid rgb(0,0,0)"><div id="gmail-attachment_23515" class="gmail-wp-caption gmail-aligncenter" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px auto;padding:5px 3px 10px;clear:both;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;border:0px solid rgb(255,255,255);max-width:100%;text-align:center;width:1210px"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-23515" alt="Empty PET water bottles for recycling." width="1200" height="800" class="gmail-wp-image-23515 gmail-size-full gmail-lazyloaded" src="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/06/PET-bottles-20220620-Billion-Photos-shutterstock_1151430377-web.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; border: 0px solid transparent; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 400ms; border-radius: 0px; box-shadow: none; width: auto;"><p id="gmail-caption-attachment-23515" class="gmail-wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px 4px 5px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:left;line-height:17px;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><em style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">As part of a recent report, the U.S. EPA provided new recycling rate estimates, which hadn’t been updated since the agency released 2018 data. </em>| <em style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Billion Photos/Shutterstock</em></p></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">The U.S. EPA’s recent recycling infrastructure report was largely focused on the investments needed to improve the system but also included new recycling rate estimates for specific materials, some of the first data updates the agency has released since its last Facts and Figures report several years ago. </span><span id="gmail-more-32877" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"></span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">The </span><a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-12/financial_assessment_of_us_recycling_system_infrastructure.pdf" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Assessment of the U.S. Recycling System: Financial Estimates to Modernize Material Recovery Infrastructure</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"> came out of a 2021 directive from Congress for the EPA to collect data on residential recycling and estimate the financial investments needed to modernize the U.S. recycling system. </span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">It </span><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2025/01/23/epa-spotlights-gaps-in-recycling-data-spending/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">included</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"> 2019 generation and recycling tonnages for PET bottles, PET rigids, HDPE bottles, aluminum, steel, cardboard, paper and glass – and the rates, in many cases, differ sharply from other estimates. </span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">The report estimated recycling rates of: </span></p><ul style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem 30px;padding:0px"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">PET bottles: 23.2%.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">PET rigids: 5.9%.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">HDPE bottles: 22.7%.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Aluminum: 36.9%.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Steel: 31.2%.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Cardboard: 53.5%.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Paper: 29.6%.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Glass: 41.4%.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Total: 38.9%.</span></li></ul><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Those generation and recycling volumes were estimated using the 50 States of Recycling report, prepared by Eunomia for the Ball Corporation, as well as the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and state waste management reports.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">The report noted that the 50 States of Recycling report from 2021 was applied to state-level population data from the 2019 American Community Survey. However, data for paper generation and recycling were unavailable for most states, so the EPA estimated missing values using the difference between average per-capita generation and recycling for states that reported data for paper recycling.</span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">“It is important to note that the state paper generation data are self-reported, not independently verified, collected at irregular intervals, and contain varying levels of detail about community recycling programs,” the report’s authors added. </span></p><h3 style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:12px 0px;padding:0px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(20,36,61);font-size:1.43em"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-weight:bolder">Past estimates </span></h3><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">However, looking at other reports that estimated 2019 recycling rates for specific materials, there’s a wide spread between the numbers. </span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">The American Forest and Paper Association </span><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2020/08/04/what-to-expect-in-domestic-recycled-paper-markets/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">estimated</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"> a cardboard recycling rate of 92% and a mixed paper recycling rate of 66.2% in 2019, whil</span><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">e a </span><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2024/11/19/revised-formula-gives-lower-occ-recycling-rate/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">study</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"> from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated a paper recycling rate of 38%. </span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">The EPA itself has not released an update to its Facts and Figures report since 2020, which covered 2018 data. In that report, it estimated a 68% paper recycling rate for 2018. </span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Fiber industry analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence and Circular Ventures have also </span><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2022/08/29/analysts-us-occ-recycling-rate-may-be-below-70/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">presented</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"> different, lower OCC and paper recycling rate estimates. </span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">Looking at plastics, NAPCOR and the Association of Plastic Recyclers </span><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/plastics/2021/06/23/report-estimates-drop-in-plastic-recycled-in-2019/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">published</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"> a 2019 PET bottle recycling rate of 27.9% and a total HDPE bottle recycling rate of 30.9%. </span></p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:1.42;background:padding-box padding-box rgba(255,255,255,0)"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">While the Glass Packaging Institute did not have numbers for 2019, it </span><a href="https://www.gpi.org/facts-about-glass-recycling" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">estimated</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"> a recycling rate of 31.3% for glass food and beverage packaging containers in 2018.</span><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">The Aluminum Association </span><a href="https://www.aluminum.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/KPI_Report_Dec2020.pdf" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent"><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">published</span></a><span style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px"> a consumer recycling rate for aluminum cans of 46.1% in 2019, higher than the EPA’s new estimate.</span></p><h3 style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:12px 0px;padding:0px;font-weight:400;line-height:1.5;color:rgb(20,36,61);font-size:1.43em"><em style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px">More stories about data</em></h3><ul class="gmail-lcp_catlist" id="gmail-lcp_instance_0" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1rem 30px;padding:0px"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2025/01/23/epa-spotlights-gaps-in-recycling-data-spending/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent;text-align:left">EPA spotlights gaps in recycling data, spending</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2025/01/14/wisconsin-recycling-aid-shrinks-over-10-year-period/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent;text-align:left">Wisconsin recycling aid shrinks over 10-year period</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:5px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);text-align:justify"><a href="https://resource-recycling.com/recycling/2024/12/17/nerc-reports-small-q3-uptick-in-commodity-values/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(40,130,50);background-color:transparent;text-align:left">NERC reports small Q3 uptick in commodity values</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div>