Looking for relevant recycling statistics and the latest facts on recycling waste? Then you've come to the right place! Every day, we generate huge amounts of waste, which pushes the capacities of recycling centers and landfills to the limit. Our consumer and Disposable society, the growing world population, the ecological challenges of our time and the limited resources of the planet make the extraction of raw materials from waste and their processing into new products indispensable.
In this article, I would like to present you with the most important global and national recycling figures. From plastic and paper to glass, organic waste, metal, electronics and textiles. I'll also introduce you to some remarkable facts that might surprise you. Let's go!
Here you can find a short overview in advance:
My please: If you use any of the recycling stats on the internet, feel free to share the link of this post as a further source. Thank you so much for your support!
Plastics: current recycling statistics for plastics and packaging recycling
When we talk about waste management and recycling, is Plastic often the first material that comes to mind. Especially Packaging and disposable materials made of plastic are the ones that often end up as waste in nature and stay there forever because they are not biodegradable.
Here are some recycling statistics you should know around plastic recycling:
- Germany: Of 5.7 million metric tons of plastic waste, 99.4 percent was recycled in Germany in 2021, according to the Federal Environment Agency. Around 64 percent energetically, 34 percent materially and 0.4 percent raw materially.₁
- Recycling rate: The recycling rate for waste from plastics production and plastics processing in 2021 was 83 percent and 73 percent, respectively. 29 percent of plastic waste from private households was recycled. For plastic waste from commercial end use, the figure was 38 percent.₁
- Exports: Plastic waste exported from Germany to certified recycling facilities abroad is also considered recycled. Around 10 percent of the plastic waste generated in Germany was exported in 2022.₂
- Worldwide: The global recycling rate for plastic packaging is only 14 percent. Around 40 percent of packaging materials end up in landfills and 14 percent in incinerators. The remaining 32 percent remains in the environment, according to the Heinrich Böll Foundation.₃
Tip: Deeper Plastic waste statistics you will learn in the linked article. Also about how you can Making life plastic free I have written a separate article for you.
Paper: Current recycling statistics on the recycling of waste paper
Whether Toilet paper, newspapers, shipping boxes or copy paper - Paper is an omnipresent material of our everyday life. Its most efficient recycling and the preference for recycled paper (see sustainable printing), for example, plays a decisive role in protecting the forest stand and Reduce CO2 emissions.
The following statistics give you a rough overview of paper recycling:
- Germany: The recycling rate for cardboard and paper packaging in Germany was 99.8 percent in 2019. Since 2011, it has never been lower than 99.4 percent.₄
- Worldwide: The global recycling rate for paper was around 74 percent in 2020.₅
- Value: It is estimated that the value of the global paper recycling market will be approximately $50.75 trillion in 2023.₆
Tip: How you save paper in everyday life and how to achieve the best possible Making the paperless office a reality you can find out in the linked posts on the blog.
Glass: Current recycling statistics for the recycling of waste glass
In fact, waste glass is the most important raw material for new glass packaging. Fortunately, if the material is disposed of properly (in the proper glass containers), it can be can be recycled as often as desired.
Here are some of the key statistics on glass recycling:
- Germany: The recycling rate for glass from used packaging in Germany is 84.2 percent.₇
- Differences: The proportion of waste glass in glass production today reaches up to 90 percent (depending on the color).₇
- Worldwide: Globally, the recycling rate for glass is around 21 percent. The rates for container glass are around 32 percent and for flat glass around 11 percent.₈
- Value: The global glass recycling market was estimated to be worth approximately $3,529 million in 2017.₉
Tip: Is the Plastic bottle or the glass bottle for mineral water more environmentally friendly? In the linked article you get the answer!
Organic waste: current recycling statistics for the recycling of organic waste
Organic waste is an often underestimated part of our waste that has enormous potential for the sustainable circular economy offers. Composting or recycling into biogas, for example, help us to preserve the natural Conserve the earth's resources.
- Germany: A total of 97 percent of all organic waste accepted at waste disposal facilities could be recycled in 2020.₁₀
- Compost: Accumulated, biological waste was reused in agriculture and forestry (e.g. horticulture or viticulture) to 66.8 percent in the aforementioned period. Around 21 percent was recycled directly by private households and around 12 percent for landscaping and maintenance.₁₀
Tip: How you can change your Composting organic waste correctlyI will also explain this in a separate blog post.
Metal: Current recycling statistics for the recycling of metals
Metals are very difficult to handle due to their Resistance essential in the recycling cycle. Recycling aluminum, steel, copper and other metals massively reduces energy consumption in production and therefore also helps to reduce the biggest environmental problems of our time, such as the climate change, to counteract.
Here are some recycling statistics that will give you a rough idea of how metals are currently recycled:
- Aluminum: In 2021, around 53 percent of refined aluminum in Germany was made from recycled material.₁₁
- Steel and copper: Around 45 percent of crude steel and 38 percent of copper in Germany in 2021 would also come from recycled raw materials.₁₁
- Worldwide: Globally, about 86 percent of gold, 60 percent of platinum, 50 percent of silver, 46 percent of copper, 42 percent of aluminum and 32 percent of cobalt is recycled.₁₂
Tip: Did you know that cell phones, for example, contain critical metals? At rare earths in smartphones you can learn more about it now. Also the post about how you can save aluminum in everyday life I would like to take this opportunity to recommend it to you.
Electronics: Current recycling statistics for the recycling of electronic waste
Whether Refrigerator, washing machine, stove, TV, laptop or smartphone - Electronic devices are a steadily growing, essential part of our everyday lives. Above all, the valuable, limited resources available from electrical devices make their recycling so important.
Here I have compiled some data and figures that give you an overview of the recycling of electronics in Germany and the world:
- Germany: According to information from waste management companies, the recycling rate for electronic waste in Germany is over 50 percent. More than half of old electronic devices are therefore returned to the materials cycle.₁₃
- Worldwide: Only 17.4 percent of the world's e-waste is recycled. By contrast, around 82.6 percent simply ends up in landfills or is incinerated.₁₃
- Value: The raw materials recycled from electronic waste worldwide have an estimated value of around $10 billion.₁₄
Tip: How you Dispose of electronic waste correctlyTo find out how to recycle it as completely as possible, see the linked blog post.
Textiles: Current recycling statistics for the recycling of clothing and textile materials
The so-called Fast Fashion poses particularly great challenges for textile recycling, as quasi every week a new trend issued and masses of further, cheap fashion is produced.
Here are some recycling statistics around the textile industry that should interest you:
- New clothes: In the aforementioned year, only about one percent of the textile fibers produced worldwide for clothing were recycled into new clothing.₁₅
- Disposal: Around 73 percent of the used clothing generated worldwide ended up in landfills or waste incineration plants.₁₅
- Cleaning rags: Around 12 percent of textile waste is recycled into low-value products such as cleaning rags.₁₅
- Germany: In Germany, around 62 percent of used textiles are reused as second-hand clothing. Around 14 percent is processed into low-value products and insulating materials. Around 12 percent goes into fiber recycling.₁₆
Tip: The so-called Slow Fashion is a decelerating countermovement to fast fashion. Use for example also the Tips for more durable fashionso that your clothes last as long as possible.
Studies: The most important studies on the subject of recycling
Although you can find the sources for the statistics mentioned about recycling waste at the end of this post, I would like to give you a few more studies here where you can more facts and figures find. Use them to gain even deeper insights into the complexity and progress of recycling in Germany and around the world.
- United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR): Global E-Waste Monitor
- Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV): Waste Management in Germany 2023 - Facts, Data, Graphics
- ifeu - Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg: Secondary raw materials in Germany
Do you know of any other important studiesthat make the current state and opportunities through the recycling of raw materials more tangible? Then I look forward to your comment.
The 10 most remarkable recycling facts that might surprise you
Now you have already learned some recycling statistics. They open your eyes to the dimensions and the enormous potential that lies in the recycling of raw materials. But here I would like to give you pretty amazing facts name, which are thought-provoking and which promote the development to a sustainable lifestyle can promote.
1. metal is probably the oldest recycling material in the world
Anyone researching the history of recycling will quickly discover that they are already begins in antiquity. Archaeologists proved that in addition to glass, even then metal was collected, melted down and reworked.₁₇
The appreciation for the material, recycling and the metal cycle is therefore already many centuries old. Metals like iron and steel are also therefore generally considered to be probably the oldest recycled materials in the world.
2. more than 200 million old cell phones are stored in German households
As the figures show, we Germans are generally quite reluctant to part with our old smartphones. Over 200 million devices are still hoarded in households.₁₈
Converted therefore owns about each:r inhabitant:in 2.5 smartphones, whose materials are a valuable source of raw materials and could prevent the dangerous and environmentally harmful mining of new raw materials.
Tip: By getting a buy a used smartphone, when your old one is broken, you can also prevent more rare metals from having to be mined for you.
3. recycled plastics reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 60 percent
The use of recycled plastics can reduce emissions of climate-damaging greenhouse gases by up to 60 percent.₁₉ Whoever uses the Promoting climate protection in everyday life would like, should therefore always Return old items to the material cycle.
4. our garbage reaches 24 times around the entire planet
Lined up end to end, the garbage we humans produce around the world every year would circle the entire planet 24 times.₂₀ An impressive fact, which makes the Extent of our "affluent society Don't you think? Use it, for example, as motivation to get your further reduce our ecological footprint.
5. Coffee to go mug cannot be recycled
In the recycling process, the paper fibers are softened in water and then separated from foreign matter. But unfortunately, the cardboard of disposable cups can not be detached from the plastic coating. This is the reason why classic coffee-to-go cups made of cardboard cannot be recycled. Unfortunately, however, around 140,000 disposable to-go cups for hot beverages are consumed every hour in Germany.₂₁
The environmentally friendly reusable alternative are washable, reusable Coffee to go mug, such as this one*.
6. the collection rate of spent batteries in Germany is only just under 48 percent.
The collection rate is understood to be the Ratio of the mass of spent batteries taken back in a calendar year to the mass of batteries put into circulation on average in the current and the two preceding calendar years. It was 48.2 percent in 2021.₂₂
Since they contain toxic heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead, and we need to protect ourselves and the environment from them, the aim is to recover 100 percent of the recyclable materials wherever possible. To do this, they must be always be collected and recycled separately from unsorted municipal waste.
7. 100 percent of all sea turtles studied have plastic in their bodies
One in the magazine Global Change Biology published study showed that all of the more than 100 sea turtles examined of all seven species in the Pacific, Atlantic and Mediterranean had plastic in their gut. This recycling fact illustrates the extent of human Microplastics in the oceans or of the Plastic waste in the environment - and underlines why it is so important to separate waste correctly and recycle plastic as efficiently as possible.
Good to know: When people simply leave their trash in public places instead of disposing of it at home, it's called a Littering. You can learn more about this convenient phenomenon in the linked blog article.
8. there is a difference between "compostable" and "garden compostable".
Even if it is each by biodegradable products the two terms do not mean exactly the same thing in this respect, which is why I like to consider this information as a remarkable recycling fact.
In Germany and the EU, according to DIN EN 13432 products as compostable if they can be decomposed under industrial composting conditions, i.e. at high temperatures and with special microorganisms.
According to the standard NF T51-800:2015 certified products are considered garden compostable. This means that they decompose even under the relatively mild conditions of a private compost pile or a public compost site. This means, therefore, that they are biodegradable without the need for industrial processes.
9. recycling rate of bulky waste in Germany is 57 percent
While recycling rates for waste electrical equipment, glass, paper and biowaste are very good in Germany, they reveal a great potential for improvement. Indeed, the recycling rate for bulky waste is only 57 percent.₂₃
10. there are over 3000 recycling centers in germany
At recycling and reusable materials centers you can, for example Construction waste, waste paper, glass, scrap metal, waste wood, electrical appliances, plastic waste or even green step drop off. In total, there are over 3,000 yards in Germany where you can properly dispose of your waste and have it recycled.
Use recycling statistics to make a positive difference in the world
The statistics and facts presented in this article make it clear how important recycling is for our planet, our society and ultimately our future. The recycling of waste and other raw materials plays a crucial role in addressing countless challenges of our time.
By producing less waste and reducing our Separate waste correctly, we facilitate recycling - and protect our environment, wildlife, ourselves and, last but not least, the lives of our children and grandchildren.
"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it."
Robert Swan (more at Environmental protection quotes)
At this point I would like to give you some further articles that are closely related to recycling and might be of interest to you:
- Zero Waste Tips - Make less waste in everyday life
- Earth Overload Day - What is it?
- Nudging - How people are guided to sustainable behavior
- Urban Mining - What is Urban Mining?
I sincerely hope that this collection of recycling statistics and facts has given you a new insight into the importance of recycling. Do you have any questions, suggestions or further figures and data that should not be missing here? Then I look forward to your comment.
Stay sustainable and appreciative of raw materials,
PS: Have you ever heard of the Upcycling heard? In the next article, you'll find out how you can make new things out of old objects and thus also conserve natural resources.
References:
₁ https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/verwertung-entsorgung-ausgewaehlter-abfallarten/kunststoffabfaelle
₂ https://www.nabu.de/umwelt-und-ressourcen/abfall-und-recycling/26205.html
₃ https://www.boell.de/de/plastikmuell
₄ https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/156544/umfrage/recyclingquote-von-papierverpackungen-in-deutschland-seit-1991
₅ https://www.cepi.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/WEB-PAGES_EPRC-Monitoring-Report-2020_20210716.pdf
₆ https://www.researchandmarkets.com/report/paper-recycling
₇ https://www.bmuv.de/themen/wasser-ressourcen-abfall/kreislaufwirtschaft/abfallarten-abfallstroeme/altglas
₈ https://www.recovery-worldwide.com/en/artikel/glass-recycling-current-market-trends-3248774.html
₉ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/recycled-glass-market
₁₀ https://www.bmuv.de/fileadmin/Daten_BMU/Pools/Broschueren/abfallwirtschaft_2023_bf.pdf
₁₁ https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/259779/umfrage/recyclinganteil-bei-der-produktion-ausgewaehlter-metalle-in-deutschland
₁₂ https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/end-of-life-recycling-rates-for-selected-metals
₁₃ https://www.br.de/nachrichten/wissen/globaler-e-waste-monitor-2020-viel-mehr-elektroschrott-weltweit,S3ZvJab
₁₄ https://www.dw.com/de/elektromüll-recyceln/a-54000832
₁₅ https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/795745/umfrage/verteilung-der-verwendung-von-bekleidung-der-textilindustrie-weltweit
₁₆ https://www.bvse.de/themen/geschichte-des-textilrecycling/der-weg-der-altkleider-von-der-sammlung-zur-wiederverwendung.html
₁₇ https://www.diepresse.com/757421/umweltverschmutzung-recycling-in-der-antike
₁₈ https://de.statista.com/infografik/13203/anzahl-alt-handys-in-deutschen-haushalten
₁₉ https://www.bvse.de/gut-informiert-kunststoffrecycling/nachrichten-recycling/5000-recyclingkunststoffe-sparen-bis-zu-60-prozent-des-co2-von-neugranulat-ein-digitale-plattform-vereinfacht-handel-und-einsatz-von-recyclaten-2.html
₂₀ Jess French (2019): So Much Garbage, p. 6.
₂₁ https://www.bmuv.de/faq/wie-viele-einweg-becher-werden-jaehrlich-verbraucht-wie-viele-landen-davon-in-der-umwelt
₂₂ https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/verwertung-entsorgung-ausgewaehlter-abfallarten/altbatterien#die-sammelquote-fur-geratebatterien-stieg-im-jahr-2021-auf-482-prozent
₂₃ https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/194573/umfrage/recyclingquote-von-abfall-in-deutschland
