Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data | US EPA (2024)

EPA defines containers and packaging as products that are assumed to be discarded the same year the products they contain are purchased. Containers and packaging make up a major portion ofmunicipal solid waste (MSW), amounting to 82.2 million tons of generation in 2018 (28.1 percent of total generation). Packaging is the product used to wrap or protect goods, including food, beverages, medications and cosmetic products. Containers and packaging are used in the shipping, storage and protection of products. They also provide sales and marketing benefits.

This web page provides an overview of data on containers and packaging in municipal solid waste (MSW). For more comprehensive information on this category of MSW, see the 2018 Data Tables on the Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report page.

On this page:

• Overview of Containers and Packaging
• Glass Containers and Packaging
• Steel Containers and Packaging
• Aluminum Containers and Packaging
• Paper and Paperboard Containers and Packaging
• Plastic Containers and Packaging
• Wood Containers and Packaging
• Other Miscellaneous Packaging

Overview of Containers and Packaging

Container and packaging products, especially corrugated boxes, are among frequently recycled products. In 2018, the recycling rate of generated packaging and containers was 53.9 percent. Additionally, the combustion of containers and packaging was 7.4 million tons (21.5 percent of total combustion with energy recovery) and landfills received 30.5 million tons (20.9 percent of total landfilling) in 2018.

Containers and packaging products in MSW are made of several materials: paper and paperboard, glass, steel, aluminum, plastics, wood, and small amounts of other materials.

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of containers and packaging generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

A dash in the table means that data is not available.

Glass Containers and Packaging

Glass containers include beer and soft drink bottles, wine and liquor bottles, as well as bottles and jars for food and juices, cosmetics, and other products. Beginning in 2009, the Glass Packaging Institute provided production data.

EPA estimated that the generation of these glass containers was 9.8 million tons in 2018, or 3.3percent of MSW generation.

The estimated amount of glass containers recycled in 2018 was 3.1 million tons, or 31.3 percent of generation. Additionally, about 13.4 percent of the glass containers and packaging waste generated was combusted with energy recovery, while the remainder (55.4 percent) was landfilled.

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of glass containers generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

Source: Glass Packaging Institute

A dash in the table means that data is not available.

Steel Containers and Packaging

The generation of steel food cans and other cans, and other steel packaging (e.g., strapping, and steel barrels and drums), totaled 2.2 million tons in 2018 (0.8 percent of total MSW generation), with most of that amount representing cans for food products. EPA based its generation estimates on data supplied by the Steel Recycling Institute (SRI).

SRI also provided recycling data for steel containers and packaging. EPA estimates the recycling of steel packaging in 2018 as 1.6 million tons, or 73.8 percent of generation. These estimates include recycling from residential sources, pre-combustion and post-combustion magnetic separation of steel cans and other ferrous products at MSW combustion facilities, and recycling of drums and barrels not suitable for reconditioning. Additionally, about five percent of the steel containers and packaging waste generated was combusted with energy recovery, while the remainder (21.2 percent) was landfilled.

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of steel containers and packaging generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

Source: Steel Recycling Institute

A dash in the table means that data is not available.

Aluminum Containers and Packaging

Aluminum containers and packaging include beer and soft drink cans (including all carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, tea, tonic, waters and juice beverages), other cans, and foil and closures (including semi-rigid foil containers, caps, closures and flexible packaging). EPA estimated the amount of generation of aluminum cans using Aluminum Association data on the number of cans consumed domestically and on average can weight. The net import of unfilled aluminum cans is estimated from data collected by the Department of Commerce. Other aluminum packaging is based on Aluminum Association data.

EPA estimated the generation of aluminum packaging at 1.9 million tons in 2018, or 0.7 percent of MSW generation. Recycling of aluminum beverage cans was 670,000 tons, or 50.4 percent of generation in 2018. Recycling data for other aluminum packaging categories were not available for 2018. Additionally, about 13 percent of the aluminum containers and packaging waste generated was combusted with energy recovery, while the remainder (52.1 percent) was landfilled.

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of aluminum containers and packaging generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

Sources: Aluminum Association data are used for generation of aluminum packaging and recycling of aluminum cans. Aluminum recycling represents aluminum cans only.

A dash in the table means that data is not available.

Paper and Paperboard Containers and Packaging

Corrugated boxes were the largest single product category of MSW in 2018 at 33.3 million tons generated, or 11.4 percent of total generation. Corrugated boxes also represent the largest single product of recycled paper and paperboard containers and packaging. In 2018, approximately 32.1 million tons of corrugated boxes were recycled out of 33.9 million tons of total paper and paperboard recycling. The recycling rate for corrugated boxes was 96.5 percent. After recycling, the combustion of corrugated boxes was 230,000 tons, and landfills received 940,000 tons in 2018.

Other paper and paperboard packaging in MSW includes milk and juice cartons and other products packaged in gable top cartons and liquid food aseptic cartons, folding cartons (e.g., cereal boxes, frozen food boxes, some department store boxes), bags and sacks, wrapping papers, and other paper and paperboard packaging (primarily set-up boxes such as shoe, cosmetic and candy boxes). Overall, paper and paperboard containers and packaging totaled 41.9 million tons of MSW generation in 2018, or 14.3 percent of total generation.

While the recycling of corrugated boxes is by far the largest component of paper packaging recycling, smaller amounts of other paper packaging products also enter the recycling stream (estimated at about 1.8 million tons in 2018). The overall recycling rate for paper and paperboard packaging was 80.9 percent in 2018. Smaller proportions were combusted for energy recovery (3.7 percent) and landfilled (15.4 percent). Other paper packaging, such as cartons and sacks, is mostly recycled as mixed papers.

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of paper and paperboard containers and packaging generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

Source: American Forest and Paper Association

A dash in the table means that data is not available.

Plastic Containers and Packaging

Packaging products are comprised of different plastic resins. Some of these include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) soft drink and water bottles, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) milk and water jugs, film products (including bags and sacks) made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and other containers and packaging (including clamshells, trays, caps, lids, egg cartons, loose fill, produce baskets, coatings and closures) made up of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and other resins. EPA used data on resin sales from the American Chemistry Council to estimate the generation of plastic containers and packaging in 2018.

EPA estimated 14.5 million tons of plastic containers and packaging were generated in 2018, approximately 5.0 percent of MSW generation. (Plastic packaging as a category in this analysis does not include single-service plates and cups, and trash bags, both of which are classified as nondurable goods).

EPA also estimated the recycling of plastic products based on data published annually by the American Chemistry Council, as well as additional industry data. The recycling rate of PET bottles and jars was 29.1 percent in 2018 (910,000 tons). It is estimated that recycling of HDPE natural bottles (e.g., milk and water bottles) was 220,000 tons, or 29.3 percent of generation. Overall, the amount of recycled plastic containers and packaging in 2018 was almost 2 million tons or 13.6 percent of plastic containers and packaging generated. Additionally, 16.9 percent of the plastic containers and packaging waste generated was combusted with energy recovery, while the remainder (over 69 percent) was landfilled.

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of plastic containers and packaging generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

Sources: American Chemistry Council and National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR).

A dash in the table means that data is not available.

Wood Containers and Packaging

Wood packaging includes mostly wood pallets, as well as wood crates. Data on the production of wood packaging are derived from purchased market research and research from the Center for Forest Products at Virginia Tech and the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Southern Research Station. In 2018, the estimated amount of generated wood pallets and other wood packaging was 11.5 million tons, totaling 3.9 percent of total MSW generation. The amount of wood pallet recycling (usually by chipping for uses such as mulch or bedding material, but excluding wood combusted as fuel) in 2018 was 3.1 million tons.

Additionally, about 14.3 percent of the wood containers and packaging waste generated was combusted with energy recovery, while the remainder (58.8 percent) was landfilled.

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of wood packaging generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

Sources: USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

A dash in the table means that data is not available.

Other Miscellaneous Packaging

EPA included estimates for some other miscellaneous packaging, such as bags made of textiles and small amounts of leather. These latter quantities are not well documented, but the Agency estimated that amount of generation was 340,000 tons in 2018, none of which moved on to recycling or composting. Approximately 20.6 percent of the other miscellaneous packaging was combusted with energy recovery, while the majority was landfilled (79.4 percent).

The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of other miscellaneous packaging generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled.

A dash in the table means that data is not available.