Waste Facts

The world creates 2.12 billion tonnes of waste every year. That’s one of the leading waste facts, but businesses and households produce many types of waste. These include waste food in restaurants to packaging waste from lunchtime snacks and barrels of hazardous and industrial waste due to manufacturing processes.

There are many shocking waste facts that highlight how much commercial and domestic rubbish we produce and the scale of managing it all effectively. We’ve put together a range of guides covering waste facts and statistics about specific waste types and industries that you can explore below.

First, discover all sorts of stats and facts about waste that highlight how much we create and why reducing waste is so important for businesses and homes across the world.

Global waste statistics

More than two billion tonnes of waste are generated across the world annually. This can be broken down based on countries, regions, waste streams, and industries. To provide an overview of worldwide waste production, here are some top level global waste statistics:

Every minute it’s estimated that 3,825 tonnes of municipal waste are produced and collected globally
More than 10,000 tonnes of waste are sent to landfill sites across the world every day
Less than 20% of global waste is recycled
It’s expected that global waste production will increase and reach 8 billion tonnes by 2050
Global waste management costs could reach $640 billion by 2050 if estimations are correct
The world creates around 3 billion tonnes of food waste annually
Over 50 million tonnes of e-waste are produced globally every year
China produces around 5% of global municipal solid waste (MSW)
The USA is responsible for about 12% of global MSW
Denmark produces the most waste per capita of 845kg

UK waste statistics

Closer to home there are many UK statistics on waste. The exact figures differ across the nations that make up the United Kingdom and by different waste streams and materials. Get an idea of how much rubbish we create with these top level UK waste statistics:

The UK produces more than 100 million tonnes of waste every year
Around 8 million tonnes of waste is sent to landfill in the UK annually
Current household recycling rates are 44.6%
More than 40 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste are generated in the UK each year
2% of packaging waste is recycled across the UK
The average person in the UK throws out their body weight in waste every seven weeks
Paper and cardboard comprise a fifth of waste in the average UK household bin
It’s estimated that about 80% of waste in UK household bins could be recycled