GITNUXREPORT 2026

Supply Chain In The Recycling Industry Statistics

Global recycling rates vary widely, with advanced collection systems often hindered by sorting and contamination challenges.

Min-ji Park

Research Analyst focused on sustainability and consumer trends.

First published: Feb 13, 2026

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Statistic 1

In 2022, the global collection rate for municipal solid waste suitable for recycling reached 44%, with Asia leading at 48% due to urban collection networks.

Statistic 2

US households recycled approximately 69 million tons of materials in 2018, representing 32.1% of generated municipal solid waste.

Statistic 3

In Europe, separate collection of paper and cardboard reached 82% in 2021, facilitated by curbside programs in 75% of EU countries.

Statistic 4

China's urban waste collection coverage hit 99% in 2020, but only 30% was sorted for recycling at source.

Statistic 5

India generated 62 million tons of waste annually in 2023, with formal collection rates at 70% in major cities.

Statistic 6

In 2021, Brazil's selective collection programs recovered 1.5 million tons of recyclables from 3,000 municipalities.

Statistic 7

UK's kerbside recycling collection diverted 50% of household waste from landfills in 2022.

Statistic 8

Australia collected 4.1 million tonnes of household recyclables in 2020-21, up 5% from previous year.

Statistic 9

Japan achieves 84% source separation rate for recyclables through mandatory household sorting.

Statistic 10

South Africa's formal recycling collection covers 10% of total waste, with informal collectors handling 90%.

Statistic 11

In 2023, global plastic waste collection for recycling stood at 9% of total plastic generated.

Statistic 12

Canada's blue box programs collected 2.9 million tonnes of recyclables in 2021.

Statistic 13

Germany collected 16.5 million tons of packaging waste in 2022 via dual systems.

Statistic 14

Mexico's recycling collection rate improved to 12% in 2022 from 8% in 2018.

Statistic 15

In 2022, US commercial waste recycling collection rate was 25%, lower than residential at 32%.

Statistic 16

France's pay-as-you-throw schemes boosted recycling collection by 15% in 2021.

Statistic 17

Indonesia collected 20% of plastic waste formally in 2023, with targets to reach 30% by 2025.

Statistic 18

Sweden's source-separated organics collection rate reached 50% of biodegradable waste in 2022.

Statistic 19

Nigeria's urban areas have 40% waste collection coverage, mostly unseparated.

Statistic 20

In 2021, global e-waste collection rate was 22.3%, leaving 57.4 Mt uncollected.

Statistic 21

Italy's door-to-door collection systems achieve 65% recycling rates in 1,800 communes.

Statistic 22

Philippines formal waste collection rate is 78% in urban areas, with 20% recycled.

Statistic 23

Turkey collected 1.2 million tons of packaging waste in 2022 through licensed systems.

Statistic 24

Vietnam's waste collection coverage is 92% in cities, but sorting at source is only 10%.

Statistic 25

In 2023, EU collected 50.6 million tons of municipal bio-waste, up 2% YoY.

Statistic 26

Belgium achieves 55% separate collection rate for recyclables through Fost Plus.

Statistic 27

Thailand's community recycling banks collected 300,000 tons in 2022.

Statistic 28

Argentina's recycling collection programs recovered 500,000 tons in 2022.

Statistic 29

New Zealand collected 1.2 million tonnes of kerbside recyclables in 2021.

Statistic 30

In 2022, Singapore's recycling rate from waste collection was 20%, targeting 30% by 2030.

Statistic 31

Global recycled plastic market to reach 60 million tons by 2028.

Statistic 32

US recycling industry employs 757,000 people, $116B economic impact.

Statistic 33

EU recycling sector turnover €200 billion, 6M jobs in 2022.

Statistic 34

China's scrap imports valued $20B before 2018 ban.

Statistic 35

India recycling market size $15B, growing 8% CAGR.

Statistic 36

Global scrap metal trade $300B annually in 2023.

Statistic 37

Brazil recycling creates 800,000 jobs, R$12B GDP contribution.

Statistic 38

UK recycled materials market £10B, 50,000 direct jobs.

Statistic 39

Japan recycling industry GDP share 1.5%, ¥20T value.

Statistic 40

Australia's recycling exports $4B, but imports ban impacts $1B.

Statistic 41

Canada scrap exports $13B CAD in 2022.

Statistic 42

Germany's circular economy market €250B, 4M jobs.

Statistic 43

Mexico recycling market $5B, informal sector 60%.

Statistic 44

France's waste management revenue €15B, recycling 40%.

Statistic 45

Global EPR schemes generate $50B fees for recycling.

Statistic 46

Italy packaging recycling compliance payments €1.2B yearly.

Statistic 47

South Korea recycling industry $30B, 130,000 jobs.

Statistic 48

Netherlands virgin plastic substitution saves €2B imports.

Statistic 49

US municipal recycling programs cost $8B annually.

Statistic 50

Spain's recycled paper market €3B, 70% consumption.

Statistic 51

Thailand recycling exports $1.5B, plastics dominant.

Statistic 52

Sweden circular materials trade €5B equivalent.

Statistic 53

Turkey scrap metal market $10B, 50,000 employed.

Statistic 54

Vietnam plastic recycling industry $2B, 100,000 informal jobs.

Statistic 55

In 2023, recycled content in new steel production reached 25% globally.

Statistic 56

US aluminum cans recycling rate hit 52% in 2022, saving 95% energy.

Statistic 57

EU paper mills used 72% recycled fiber in 2021 production.

Statistic 58

China's recycled plastic production was 18 million tons in 2022.

Statistic 59

PET bottle-to-bottle recycling capacity in India reached 1.5 million tons.

Statistic 60

Global tire recycling produced 1.2 billion tires equivalent in 2023.

Statistic 61

Brazil's steel arc furnaces use 85% scrap input on average.

Statistic 62

UK's plastic reprocessing plants output 400,000 tons/year.

Statistic 63

Japan's recycled glass used in 90% of new bottles.

Statistic 64

Australia's battery recycling recovers 95% lithium from EV packs.

Statistic 65

Canada produces 4 million tons of recycled paper annually.

Statistic 66

Germany's textile recycling yields 500,000 tons of fibers yearly.

Statistic 67

Mexico's cement kilns co-process 5% alternative fuels from waste.

Statistic 68

France recycled 1.2 million tons of electronics in 2022.

Statistic 69

E-waste recycling recovers $62 billion in metals globally per year.

Statistic 70

Italy's glass recycling rate is 76%, closed-loop manufacturing.

Statistic 71

South Korea remanufactures 80% of automotive parts from scrap.

Statistic 72

Netherlands' chemical recycling plants process 50,000 tons plastics.

Statistic 73

US recycled content in construction aggregates is 40%.

Statistic 74

Spain's olive pomace recycling produces 1 million tons biodiesel.

Statistic 75

Thailand's HDPE recycling for pipes uses 60% post-consumer.

Statistic 76

Sweden's wood waste recycling feeds 20% district heating.

Statistic 77

Turkey produces 15 million tons recycled steel annually.

Statistic 78

Vietnam's garment waste recycling yields 100,000 tons fibers.

Statistic 79

North America's MRFs processed 35 million tons of recyclables in 2022, with contamination rates averaging 17%.

Statistic 80

Global sorting capacity for plastics reached 15 million tons per year in 2023.

Statistic 81

EU MRFs recovered 75% of incoming paper stream purity post-sorting in 2021.

Statistic 82

US single-stream recycling sorting efficiency dropped to 85% yield due to contamination.

Statistic 83

China's 500+ advanced MRFs handle 20 million tons annually with AI sorting tech.

Statistic 84

Optical sorting machines increased metal recovery rates to 95% in European facilities.

Statistic 85

In 2022, 60% of US MRFs used robotics for sorting, reducing labor by 30%.

Statistic 86

India's informal sorting sector processes 30% of recyclables manually.

Statistic 87

Ballistic separators in UK MRFs achieve 90% separation accuracy for films.

Statistic 88

Global investment in sorting tech reached $2.5 billion in 2023.

Statistic 89

Japan's MRFs sort 22 categories of waste with 98% accuracy using AI.

Statistic 90

Brazil's sorting centers process 1 million tons/year, with 40% export quality.

Statistic 91

Contamination in Australian single-stream systems averages 12.5% post-sort.

Statistic 92

Eddy current separators recover 99% of non-ferrous metals globally.

Statistic 93

France's 1,200 sorting centers handle 12 million tons, 80% sorted automatically.

Statistic 94

E-waste sorting yields 90% precious metals recovery in certified facilities.

Statistic 95

Germany's deposit system sorting achieves 98% PET bottle purity.

Statistic 96

South Korea's MRFs process 95% of collected PET with near-infrared sorting.

Statistic 97

US glass sorting breakage reduced to 5% with advanced air classifiers.

Statistic 98

Italy's consortia sort 85% of packaging with dual-tech systems.

Statistic 99

Magnetic density separation boosts HDPE purity to 97% in Dutch plants.

Statistic 100

Global paper sorting capacity is 200 million tons/year, 70% automated.

Statistic 101

Mexico's new MRFs increased sorting throughput by 50% to 500,000 tons.

Statistic 102

AI vision systems detect 99% contamination in real-time sorting.

Statistic 103

UK's PRFs (plastics recovery facilities) sort 300,000 tons PET/year.

Statistic 104

Vietnam invests $100M in sorting tech for 2 million tons capacity.

Statistic 105

Sweden's optical sorters recover 92% of food-grade plastics.

Statistic 106

Turkey's 100 MRFs process 2.5 million tons with 75% recovery rate.

Statistic 107

In 2022, 40% of global recyclables transport was by rail, reducing emissions by 75% vs. trucks.

Statistic 108

US scrap metal logistics moved 140 million tons in 2022, 60% by truck.

Statistic 109

EU container shipping for recyclables grew 15% YoY to 50 million TEUs.

Statistic 110

China's high-speed rail for waste transport covers 30,000 km network.

Statistic 111

Global recycling logistics market valued at $45 billion in 2023.

Statistic 112

India's coastal shipping for plastics recyclables saves 20% costs.

Statistic 113

Barge transport in US Midwest moves 20 million tons of scrap annually.

Statistic 114

Australia's bulk carriers export 3 million tons of recyclables yearly.

Statistic 115

Japan uses 5,000 specialized trucks for daily recyclable haulage.

Statistic 116

Brazil's road freight for recyclables accounts for 90% of 5 million tons.

Statistic 117

UK rail freight recyclables tonnage up 10% to 4.5 million in 2022.

Statistic 118

Canada's truck fleets emit 2.5 Mt CO2 from recycling transport.

Statistic 119

Germany's inland waterways carry 15% of industrial recyclables.

Statistic 120

Mexico's rail network transports 1 million tons of scrap metal yearly.

Statistic 121

France's logistics hubs consolidate 80% of recyclables for efficiency.

Statistic 122

E-waste air freight banned in EU, shifting to sea with 95% compliance.

Statistic 123

South Africa's truck transport costs rose 25% for recyclables in 2023.

Statistic 124

Italy's intermodal transport for packaging waste saves 30% emissions.

Statistic 125

Indonesia's sea transport for nickel scrap up 50% post-bans.

Statistic 126

Sweden's electric truck fleet for recyclables covers 20% of routes.

Statistic 127

Turkey exports 70% recyclables by container ship to EU markets.

Statistic 128

Vietnam's barge systems on Mekong handle 500,000 tons plastics.

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From the impressive collection rates in Asia to the surprisingly low global plastic recycling stats, the numbers reveal a world where modern waste management is a complex logistical ballet, and this blog post dives into the intricate supply chains that move, sort, and transform our recyclables from curbside bins into new products.

Key Takeaways

In 2022, the global collection rate for municipal solid waste suitable for recycling reached 44%, with Asia leading at 48% due to urban collection networks.
US households recycled approximately 69 million tons of materials in 2018, representing 32.1% of generated municipal solid waste.
In Europe, separate collection of paper and cardboard reached 82% in 2021, facilitated by curbside programs in 75% of EU countries.
North America's MRFs processed 35 million tons of recyclables in 2022, with contamination rates averaging 17%.
Global sorting capacity for plastics reached 15 million tons per year in 2023.
EU MRFs recovered 75% of incoming paper stream purity post-sorting in 2021.
In 2022, 40% of global recyclables transport was by rail, reducing emissions by 75% vs. trucks.
US scrap metal logistics moved 140 million tons in 2022, 60% by truck.
EU container shipping for recyclables grew 15% YoY to 50 million TEUs.
In 2023, recycled content in new steel production reached 25% globally.
US aluminum cans recycling rate hit 52% in 2022, saving 95% energy.
EU paper mills used 72% recycled fiber in 2021 production.
Global recycled plastic market to reach 60 million tons by 2028.
US recycling industry employs 757,000 people, $116B economic impact.
EU recycling sector turnover €200 billion, 6M jobs in 2022.

Global recycling rates vary widely, with advanced collection systems often hindered by sorting and contamination challenges.

Collection and Sourcing

In 2022, the global collection rate for municipal solid waste suitable for recycling reached 44%, with Asia leading at 48% due to urban collection networks.
US households recycled approximately 69 million tons of materials in 2018, representing 32.1% of generated municipal solid waste.
In Europe, separate collection of paper and cardboard reached 82% in 2021, facilitated by curbside programs in 75% of EU countries.
China's urban waste collection coverage hit 99% in 2020, but only 30% was sorted for recycling at source.
India generated 62 million tons of waste annually in 2023, with formal collection rates at 70% in major cities.
In 2021, Brazil's selective collection programs recovered 1.5 million tons of recyclables from 3,000 municipalities.
UK's kerbside recycling collection diverted 50% of household waste from landfills in 2022.
Australia collected 4.1 million tonnes of household recyclables in 2020-21, up 5% from previous year.
Japan achieves 84% source separation rate for recyclables through mandatory household sorting.
South Africa's formal recycling collection covers 10% of total waste, with informal collectors handling 90%.
In 2023, global plastic waste collection for recycling stood at 9% of total plastic generated.
Canada's blue box programs collected 2.9 million tonnes of recyclables in 2021.
Germany collected 16.5 million tons of packaging waste in 2022 via dual systems.
Mexico's recycling collection rate improved to 12% in 2022 from 8% in 2018.
In 2022, US commercial waste recycling collection rate was 25%, lower than residential at 32%.
France's pay-as-you-throw schemes boosted recycling collection by 15% in 2021.
Indonesia collected 20% of plastic waste formally in 2023, with targets to reach 30% by 2025.
Sweden's source-separated organics collection rate reached 50% of biodegradable waste in 2022.
Nigeria's urban areas have 40% waste collection coverage, mostly unseparated.
In 2021, global e-waste collection rate was 22.3%, leaving 57.4 Mt uncollected.
Italy's door-to-door collection systems achieve 65% recycling rates in 1,800 communes.
Philippines formal waste collection rate is 78% in urban areas, with 20% recycled.
Turkey collected 1.2 million tons of packaging waste in 2022 through licensed systems.
Vietnam's waste collection coverage is 92% in cities, but sorting at source is only 10%.
In 2023, EU collected 50.6 million tons of municipal bio-waste, up 2% YoY.
Belgium achieves 55% separate collection rate for recyclables through Fost Plus.
Thailand's community recycling banks collected 300,000 tons in 2022.
Argentina's recycling collection programs recovered 500,000 tons in 2022.
New Zealand collected 1.2 million tonnes of kerbside recyclables in 2021.
In 2022, Singapore's recycling rate from waste collection was 20%, targeting 30% by 2030.

Collection and Sourcing Interpretation

While we've impressively built the global supply chain's "front end" for collecting recyclables, with many regions achieving high collection rates through sophisticated networks, the persistently low overall recycling figures reveal we're still mostly just moving our waste around with remarkable efficiency rather than truly closing the loop.

Economic and Market Trends

Global recycled plastic market to reach 60 million tons by 2028.
US recycling industry employs 757,000 people, $116B economic impact.
EU recycling sector turnover €200 billion, 6M jobs in 2022.
China's scrap imports valued $20B before 2018 ban.
India recycling market size $15B, growing 8% CAGR.
Global scrap metal trade $300B annually in 2023.
Brazil recycling creates 800,000 jobs, R$12B GDP contribution.
UK recycled materials market £10B, 50,000 direct jobs.
Japan recycling industry GDP share 1.5%, ¥20T value.
Australia's recycling exports $4B, but imports ban impacts $1B.
Canada scrap exports $13B CAD in 2022.
Germany's circular economy market €250B, 4M jobs.
Mexico recycling market $5B, informal sector 60%.
France's waste management revenue €15B, recycling 40%.
Global EPR schemes generate $50B fees for recycling.
Italy packaging recycling compliance payments €1.2B yearly.
South Korea recycling industry $30B, 130,000 jobs.
Netherlands virgin plastic substitution saves €2B imports.
US municipal recycling programs cost $8B annually.
Spain's recycled paper market €3B, 70% consumption.
Thailand recycling exports $1.5B, plastics dominant.
Sweden circular materials trade €5B equivalent.
Turkey scrap metal market $10B, 50,000 employed.
Vietnam plastic recycling industry $2B, 100,000 informal jobs.

Economic and Market Trends Interpretation

We're talking about a vast, high-stakes global chessboard where millions of jobs, hundreds of billions in value, and the future of our resources are all being moved by the critical, often underappreciated, industry of taking yesterday's trash and making it tomorrow's economic and environmental foundation.

Recycling and Manufacturing

In 2023, recycled content in new steel production reached 25% globally.
US aluminum cans recycling rate hit 52% in 2022, saving 95% energy.
EU paper mills used 72% recycled fiber in 2021 production.
China's recycled plastic production was 18 million tons in 2022.
PET bottle-to-bottle recycling capacity in India reached 1.5 million tons.
Global tire recycling produced 1.2 billion tires equivalent in 2023.
Brazil's steel arc furnaces use 85% scrap input on average.
UK's plastic reprocessing plants output 400,000 tons/year.
Japan's recycled glass used in 90% of new bottles.
Australia's battery recycling recovers 95% lithium from EV packs.
Canada produces 4 million tons of recycled paper annually.
Germany's textile recycling yields 500,000 tons of fibers yearly.
Mexico's cement kilns co-process 5% alternative fuels from waste.
France recycled 1.2 million tons of electronics in 2022.
E-waste recycling recovers $62 billion in metals globally per year.
Italy's glass recycling rate is 76%, closed-loop manufacturing.
South Korea remanufactures 80% of automotive parts from scrap.
Netherlands' chemical recycling plants process 50,000 tons plastics.
US recycled content in construction aggregates is 40%.
Spain's olive pomace recycling produces 1 million tons biodiesel.
Thailand's HDPE recycling for pipes uses 60% post-consumer.
Sweden's wood waste recycling feeds 20% district heating.
Turkey produces 15 million tons recycled steel annually.
Vietnam's garment waste recycling yields 100,000 tons fibers.

Recycling and Manufacturing Interpretation

While these statistics showcase a global recycling industry that is genuinely churning towards a circular economy, the patchy progress from aluminum cans to textile waste proves we’re still more of a ‘spork’ than a perfectly engineered closed-loop system—functional, clever in parts, but not yet the elegant tool we need for the job.

Sorting and Processing

North America's MRFs processed 35 million tons of recyclables in 2022, with contamination rates averaging 17%.
Global sorting capacity for plastics reached 15 million tons per year in 2023.
EU MRFs recovered 75% of incoming paper stream purity post-sorting in 2021.
US single-stream recycling sorting efficiency dropped to 85% yield due to contamination.
China's 500+ advanced MRFs handle 20 million tons annually with AI sorting tech.
Optical sorting machines increased metal recovery rates to 95% in European facilities.
In 2022, 60% of US MRFs used robotics for sorting, reducing labor by 30%.
India's informal sorting sector processes 30% of recyclables manually.
Ballistic separators in UK MRFs achieve 90% separation accuracy for films.
Global investment in sorting tech reached $2.5 billion in 2023.
Japan's MRFs sort 22 categories of waste with 98% accuracy using AI.
Brazil's sorting centers process 1 million tons/year, with 40% export quality.
Contamination in Australian single-stream systems averages 12.5% post-sort.
Eddy current separators recover 99% of non-ferrous metals globally.
France's 1,200 sorting centers handle 12 million tons, 80% sorted automatically.
E-waste sorting yields 90% precious metals recovery in certified facilities.
Germany's deposit system sorting achieves 98% PET bottle purity.
South Korea's MRFs process 95% of collected PET with near-infrared sorting.
US glass sorting breakage reduced to 5% with advanced air classifiers.
Italy's consortia sort 85% of packaging with dual-tech systems.
Magnetic density separation boosts HDPE purity to 97% in Dutch plants.
Global paper sorting capacity is 200 million tons/year, 70% automated.
Mexico's new MRFs increased sorting throughput by 50% to 500,000 tons.
AI vision systems detect 99% contamination in real-time sorting.
UK's PRFs (plastics recovery facilities) sort 300,000 tons PET/year.
Vietnam invests $100M in sorting tech for 2 million tons capacity.
Sweden's optical sorters recover 92% of food-grade plastics.
Turkey's 100 MRFs process 2.5 million tons with 75% recovery rate.

Sorting and Processing Interpretation

The recycling industry's supply chain is a tale of two worlds: while cutting-edge AI and robotics achieve near-perfect purity in some nations, elsewhere a staggering contamination problem persists, revealing a costly gap between high-tech potential and the messy reality of our collective waste stream.

Transportation and Distribution

In 2022, 40% of global recyclables transport was by rail, reducing emissions by 75% vs. trucks.
US scrap metal logistics moved 140 million tons in 2022, 60% by truck.
EU container shipping for recyclables grew 15% YoY to 50 million TEUs.
China's high-speed rail for waste transport covers 30,000 km network.
Global recycling logistics market valued at $45 billion in 2023.
India's coastal shipping for plastics recyclables saves 20% costs.
Barge transport in US Midwest moves 20 million tons of scrap annually.
Australia's bulk carriers export 3 million tons of recyclables yearly.
Japan uses 5,000 specialized trucks for daily recyclable haulage.
Brazil's road freight for recyclables accounts for 90% of 5 million tons.
UK rail freight recyclables tonnage up 10% to 4.5 million in 2022.
Canada's truck fleets emit 2.5 Mt CO2 from recycling transport.
Germany's inland waterways carry 15% of industrial recyclables.
Mexico's rail network transports 1 million tons of scrap metal yearly.
France's logistics hubs consolidate 80% of recyclables for efficiency.
E-waste air freight banned in EU, shifting to sea with 95% compliance.
South Africa's truck transport costs rose 25% for recyclables in 2023.
Italy's intermodal transport for packaging waste saves 30% emissions.
Indonesia's sea transport for nickel scrap up 50% post-bans.
Sweden's electric truck fleet for recyclables covers 20% of routes.
Turkey exports 70% recyclables by container ship to EU markets.
Vietnam's barge systems on Mekong handle 500,000 tons plastics.

Transportation and Distribution Interpretation

The recycling industry is proving that getting our global act together isn't just a pipe dream—it’s a serious logistical operation, moving mountains of waste with surprising efficiency while grudgingly cleaning up its own carbon footprint one train, barge, and container ship at a time.