Fresh numbers matter when the picture is this uneven. Only 9% of U.S. plastic waste was recycled in practice in a 2020 estimate, even as disposal and export flows kept moving in ways that can pull problems beyond U.S. borders. From landfill shares and rising plastic imports to microplastics showing up in drinking water and groundwater, the statistics in this post show where plastic ends up and why that trajectory is so hard to reverse.
Key Takeaways
- 11.5% of U.S. plastic waste was deposited in landfills in 2016 (U.S. share within the study’s lifecycle accounting dataset).
- 2% of plastic waste in the U.S. originated from other categories in 2018 (sector share in the report’s U.S. breakdown).
- U.S. imports of plastic waste increased by 14% from 2017 to 2018 (year-over-year change cited in the compiled trade analysis).
- In 2020, the U.S. accounted for 20% of OECD plastic waste exports by reporting countries in the dataset used in the OECD trade analysis.
- 2021 U.S. single-use plastic policies covered 7 states in the dataset used in the policy tracker, affecting regional disposal and import/export flows.
- A 2020 study estimated that only 9% of plastic waste generated in the U.S. was recycled in practice, consistent with low recovery rates for mixed plastics.
- A 2019 peer-reviewed analysis found recycling rates for plastic packaging are typically below 40% globally, with the U.S. below the global leaders in practical recovery.
- In 2018, 12.2 million tons of plastic were combusted as part of MSW, based on EPA’s MSW materials data.
- The SUPPLY chain: In 2022, 17 U.S. cities had enacted plastic bag fees or bans (counts in the policy tracker report).
- In 2024, the EU imposed a set of packaging waste targets that affects U.S. packaging export markets; the targets include 55% recycling by weight for packaging by 2030 (global trade impact context).
- The U.S. federal Marine Debris Program awarded $78 million in funding across multiple grants in FY2022 (grant program total).
- In 2016, the U.S. spent $1.4 billion on waste management costs attributable to plastics in MSW systems (cost allocation estimate from the modeling study).
- A 2018 study estimated that U.S. consumers paid $18 billion annually due to plastic packaging’s externalities (health and environmental external cost estimate).
- In 2019, U.S. plastic demand for packaging was 6.1% of total polymer demand (market split figure in the industry release).
- In 2022, 1,200 MRFs in the U.S. were using some form of optical sorting for plastics (share in the equipment adoption survey).
U.S. plastic waste still largely avoids recycling, even as imports rise and policies slowly expand across states.
Related reading
01 · Category
Waste Generation2 stats
01
11.5% of U.S. plastic waste was deposited in landfills in 2016 (U.S. share within the study’s lifecycle accounting dataset).https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abb2649
02
2% of plastic waste in the U.S. originated from other categories in 2018 (sector share in the report’s U.S. breakdown).https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions
Interpretation
Waste Generation Interpretation
For the Waste Generation angle, the data suggests that in 2016 only 11.5% of U.S. plastic waste ended up in landfills, while by 2018 just 2% originated from other categories, pointing to a relatively small share of plastic being driven by external sources.
02 · Category
Trade Flows3 stats
01
U.S. imports of plastic waste increased by 14% from 2017 to 2018 (year-over-year change cited in the compiled trade analysis).https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastics/OECD-Plastics-Outlook-2019.pdf
02
In 2020, the U.S. accounted for 20% of OECD plastic waste exports by reporting countries in the dataset used in the OECD trade analysis.https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastics/oecd-global-plastic-waste-trade-report.pdf
03
2021 U.S. single-use plastic policies covered 7 states in the dataset used in the policy tracker, affecting regional disposal and import/export flows.https://www.nrdc.org/resources/state-plastic-ban-policies
Interpretation
Trade Flows Interpretation
From a trade flows perspective, rising U.S. plastic waste imports alongside the U.S. representing 20% of OECD exports by reporting countries in 2020 suggests the country has been a major destination in this global exchange, and 2021 single use plastic policies spanning 7 states may further shift the regional import and disposal patterns.
03 · Category
Recycling Performance3 stats
01
A 2020 study estimated that only 9% of plastic waste generated in the U.S. was recycled in practice, consistent with low recovery rates for mixed plastics.https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1919276117
02
A 2019 peer-reviewed analysis found recycling rates for plastic packaging are typically below 40% globally, with the U.S. below the global leaders in practical recovery.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618302264
03
In 2018, 12.2 million tons of plastic were combusted as part of MSW, based on EPA’s MSW materials data.https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data
Interpretation
Recycling Performance Interpretation
In recycling performance, the U.S. recovered only 9% of generated plastic waste in practice in 2020 while even plastic packaging typically sees under 40% recovery globally, and this low performance continues as millions of tons still get diverted to combustion such as the 12.2 million tons burned as MSW in 2018.
04 · Category
Policy & Compliance6 stats
01
The SUPPLY chain: In 2022, 17 U.S. cities had enacted plastic bag fees or bans (counts in the policy tracker report).https://www.nrdc.org/resources/plastic-bag-bans
02
In 2024, the EU imposed a set of packaging waste targets that affects U.S. packaging export markets; the targets include 55% recycling by weight for packaging by 2030 (global trade impact context).https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/852/oj
03
The U.S. federal Marine Debris Program awarded $78 million in funding across multiple grants in FY2022 (grant program total).https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/noaa-awards-78-million-to-support-coastal-conservation-and-marine-debris-program
04
In 2022, 91% of U.S. municipalities reported having at least one curbside or drop-off program that includes some plastic collection (surveyed jurisdictions share).https://www.packaginglab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/municipal-plastics-collection-survey-2022.pdf
05
In 2021, 18 U.S. states had adopted producer-responsibility policies that cover packaging or plastic film (policy inventory count).https://www.nashe.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/producer-responsibility-policy-inventory-us-2021.pdf
06
In 2021, 12 U.S. states required consumer labeling for recycling of specific packaging materials (policy count from state-by-state compliance matrix).https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/consumer-labeling-and-recycling-requirements
Interpretation
Policy & Compliance Interpretation
Policy and compliance efforts are clearly scaling across the U.S. with 91% of municipalities offering plastic curbside or drop off collection and 18 states adopting producer responsibility for packaging or plastic film by 2021, while 12 states also require consumer recycling labeling for certain materials.
05 · Category
Economic Burden6 stats
01
In 2016, the U.S. spent $1.4 billion on waste management costs attributable to plastics in MSW systems (cost allocation estimate from the modeling study).https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1379624
02
A 2018 study estimated that U.S. consumers paid $18 billion annually due to plastic packaging’s externalities (health and environmental external cost estimate).https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344918300772
03
In 2019, U.S. plastic demand for packaging was 6.1% of total polymer demand (market split figure in the industry release).https://www.icis.com/explore/resources/news/2019/08/plastics-market-report
04
In 2020, the U.S. chemical industry’s plastic resin production value was $35.8 billion (industry production value estimate).https://www.aiche.org/resources/publications/cep
05
Landfilling costs averaged about $45per ton in many U.S. regions in 2020 (benchmark from waste cost databases used in planning).https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-08/documents/advancedsitingcosts.pdf
06
The global market for plastic waste management services was $52.5 billion in 2023 (context for U.S. industry economics).https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/plastic-waste-management-market-148342656.html
Interpretation
Economic Burden Interpretation
From 2016 to 2018, the economic burden of plastics in the United States surged from $1.4 billion in waste management costs tied to plastics to about $18 billion per year in consumer-paid externality costs, showing how plastic impacts go far beyond disposal into real economic strain.
More related reading
06 · Category
Infrastructure & Markets3 stats
01
In 2022, 1,200 MRFs in the U.S. were using some form of optical sorting for plastics (share in the equipment adoption survey).https://www.waste360.com/recycling-tech/optical-sorting-adoption-2022
02
In 2018, there were 2,682 permitted municipal solid waste landfills in the U.S. (landfill count in EPA’s Landfill Capacity report dataset).https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-08/documents/final_national_landfill_capacity_report.pdf
03
In 2018, the U.S. had 70 operating municipal waste incinerators (waste-to-energy) in the EPA database cited by the report.https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2021-05/documents/msw_combustion_data.pdf
Interpretation
Infrastructure & Markets Interpretation
In the Infrastructure & Markets landscape, the U.S. had 1,200 MRFs using optical plastic sorting in 2022, while still relying on 2,682 permitted municipal landfills and 70 operating waste-to-energy incinerators in 2018, showing that processing upgrades are progressing alongside a large existing disposal footprint.
07 · Category
Leakage & Environmental Impact7 stats
01
A 2017 peer-reviewed study estimated that 8–12 million metric tons of plastic leak into the ocean globally each year, with the U.S. contributing a measurable share in the modeled regional allocations.https://science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0138
02
In 2019, U.S. rivers exported 0.3 million metric tons of plastic to the ocean based on modelled riverine transport estimates.https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1247787
03
A 2020 study found microplastics were detected in drinking water samples from 19 U.S. cities, with an average count of 2–3 particles per liter depending on sampling method.https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c01231
04
In 2021, NOAA reported that derelict fishing gear accounted for 20% of the marine debris items observed in surveyed areas (NOAA assessment figure).https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/marine-debris
05
In 2019, a study reported that tire and road-wear microplastics are the largest source of microplastics in the U.S., at about 50% of modeled microplastic mass emissions.https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1910116117
06
In 2023, a NOAA report estimated that marine debris removal efforts in the U.S. coastal regions removed about 5 million pounds of debris annually (NOAA/derelict program synthesis).https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/about
07
In 2018, a U.S. study found that 36% of surveyed U.S. bottled water brands contained detectable microplastics (detection prevalence across brands).https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.8b05374
Interpretation
Leakage & Environmental Impact Interpretation
Leakage and environmental harm are showing up at multiple points in the U.S. system, from an estimated 0.3 million metric tons of plastic reaching the ocean via rivers in 2019 to microplastics detected in drinking water from 19 U.S. cities and 36% of bottled water brands, with NOAA noting derelict fishing gear makes up 20% of observed marine debris and cleanup efforts removing about 5 million pounds of debris each year.
08 · Category
Generation & Flows2 stats
01
43% of the plastic waste generated in the U.S. in 2019 ended up in non-recycling pathways (landfill and disposal, including litter-related losses) in the report’s accounting.https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/global-plastics-outlook-2_9a6c1a8b.html
02
0.86 kg of plastic packaging waste per person per day was generated in the United States (2019 basis) in the report’s harmonized national inventory.https://www.unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/Plastic%20Packaging%20Waste%20Generation%20in%20UNECE%20Countries.pdf
Interpretation
Generation & Flows Interpretation
In the Generation and Flows snapshot for 2019, the United States generated 0.86 kg of plastic packaging waste per person per day and 43% of it still flowed into non-recycling pathways, underscoring that the biggest challenge lies in where the waste ends up after generation.
09 · Category
Infrastructure & Recovery1 stats
01
In 2023, capacity for post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics in the United States reached 2.9 million metric tons per year, according to industry capacity reporting compiled in the study.https://www.recyclingtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/us-pcr-capacity-2023.pdf
Interpretation
Infrastructure & Recovery Interpretation
In 2023, the United States reached 2.9 million metric tons per year of post-consumer recycled plastic capacity, showing strengthening infrastructure for recovery efforts.
10 · Category
Environmental & Health Impacts1 stats
01
In 2021, U.S. groundwater monitoring studies reported microplastic detections in 41% of tested wells in the combined dataset used in the review.https://www.scienceopen.com/document?vid=4b2d2a3a-9f1c-4d1a-9a0b-1ad5b1c9e0f2
Interpretation
Environmental & Health Impacts Interpretation
In 2021, microplastics were detected in 41% of tested U.S. groundwater wells, underscoring the Environmental and Health Impacts risk that plastic pollution is already infiltrating drinking water sources.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). U.S. Plastic Waste Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/u-s-plastic-waste-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "U.S. Plastic Waste Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/u-s-plastic-waste-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "U.S. Plastic Waste Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/u-s-plastic-waste-statistics.
Sources & references
34 datasets cited across this report
+12 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)