Paper recycling statistics describe several different systems: U.S. municipal solid waste (MSW), paper packaging, and European paper-and-board flows. The measures below keep their populations, periods, units, and definitions explicit so that a municipal recycling estimate is not mistaken for an office-paper rate or a packaging-only result.
Key Paper Recycling Statistics
The most useful headline figures span long-term U.S. trends, regional benchmarks, and recent European flows:
- In 2018, 67.390 million U.S. tons of paper and paperboard entered the U.S. MSW stream in the United States.
- In 2018, 45.970 million U.S. tons of U.S. MSW paper and paperboard were recycled.
- In 2018, U.S. MSW paper and paperboard recycling was reported at 68.2%.
- In 2000, 37.560 million U.S. tons of U.S. MSW paper and paperboard were recycled.
- In 1960, 5.080 million U.S. tons of U.S. MSW paper and paperboard were recycled.
- In 2018, 41.900 million U.S. tons of paper and paperboard containers and packaging were generated in U.S. MSW.
- In 1960, 14.110 million U.S. tons of paper and paperboard containers and packaging were generated in U.S. MSW.
- In 2022, the paper recycling rate was 60.0% worldwide in the Cepi/Fastmarkets/RISI comparison.
- In 2022, the paper recycling rate was 71.1% in Cepi Europe.
- In 2022, the paper recycling rate was 67.6% in North America.
- In 2023, Europe’s paper recycling rate was 79.3% under the Cepi paper-and-board consumption definition.
- In 2023, Europe collected and recycled 53.7 million tonnes of paper and board.
- In 2023, European paper and board consumption was 67.7 million tonnes.
- During 2021–2023, Europe’s three-year rolling-average paper recycling rate was 74.4%.
- In 2023, 19 European countries exceeded a 70% paper recycling rate.
- In 2023, four European countries were below a 60% paper recycling rate.
- In 2021, the EU-27 paper and cardboard packaging recycling rate was 82.5%.
- In 2023, each fibre completed an estimated average of 4.8 recycling-and-use cycles in Europe.
- In 2022, the estimated world average was 2.5 recycling-and-use cycles per fibre.
Contents
- U.S. paper recycling generation trends
- U.S. paper recycling outcomes and pathways
- Paper recycling statistics for containers and packaging
- European paper recycling rates and regional benchmarks
- Recent European paper recycling flows, cycles, and trade
U.S. Paper Recycling Statistics: Generation Trends
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) series measures paper and paperboard in municipal solid waste. It is broader than printer paper, office paper, or paper collected from a particular building, and the EPA table reports weight rather than material quality or collection access.
| Year | U.S. MSW paper and paperboard generated (million U.S. tons) |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 29.990 |
| 1970 | 44.310 |
| 1980 | 55.160 |
| 1990 | 72.730 |
| 2000 | 87.740 |
| 2005 | 84.840 |
| 2010 | 71.310 |
| 2015 | 68.050 |
| 2017 | 67.010 |
| 2018 | 67.390 |
Source: Paper and Paperboard: Material-Specific Data | Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling. EPA figures are U.S. MSW estimates, not office-paper-only or printer-paper-only rates.
The series reached its highest supplied observation in 2000, at 87.740 million U.S. tons, before declining to 67.390 million U.S. tons in 2018. That later figure is an estimate in the EPA context: EPA used AF&PA statistics to estimate post-consumer generation for 2018.
The long time span also shows why a single recycling percentage needs a denominator. Generation, collection, recycling, disposal, and energy recovery describe different stages or pathways, even when they refer to the same broad material category.
U.S. Paper Recycling Data: Recycling Outcomes and Pathways
EPA’s management-pathway estimates show how much of the U.S. MSW paper and paperboard stream was recycled in the supplied years. These are not measurements of the quality of recovered fibre or the availability of collection service.
| Year | U.S. MSW paper and paperboard recycled (million U.S. tons) |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 5.080 |
| 1970 | 6.770 |
| 1980 | 11.740 |
| 1990 | 20.230 |
| 2000 | 37.560 |
| 2005 | 41.960 |
| 2010 | 44.570 |
| 2015 | 45.320 |
| 2017 | 44.170 |
| 2018 | 45.970 |
Source: Paper and Paperboard: Material-Specific Data | Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling. The EPA describes these as management-pathway estimates; the 2018 entry is reported as approximately 46 million tons and a 68.2% rate.
The supplied recycling total rose from 5.080 million U.S. tons in 1960 to 45.970 million U.S. tons in 2018. The 2018 percentage is specifically the EPA-reported rate for this U.S. MSW paper-and-paperboard category, not a universal rate for every kind of paper product.
Three scope limits matter when interpreting the result:
- The EPA figures cover U.S. municipal solid waste rather than a paper mill’s total fibre supply.
- The figures report weight and pathway estimates, not contamination, fibre grade, or access to curbside and drop-off programs.
- The dataset does not support a separate office-printer-paper recycling rate, so the broader MSW category should not be narrowed to that use case.
Paper Recycling Statistics for Containers and Packaging
Paper packaging is a distinct EPA category. It excludes non-packaging paper products, so it should not be compared directly with the all-paper MSW series as if the populations were identical.
| Year | U.S. paper and paperboard containers and packaging generated (million U.S. tons) |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 14.110 |
| 1970 | 21.400 |
| 1980 | 26.350 |
| 1990 | 32.680 |
| 2000 | 39.940 |
| 2005 | 39.640 |
| 2010 | 37.680 |
| 2015 | 39.920 |
| 2017 | 41.060 |
| 2018 | 41.900 |
Source: Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data | Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling. The 2018 packaging figure was reported as 14.3% of total U.S. MSW generation.
Packaging generation increased from 14.110 million U.S. tons in 1960 to 41.900 million U.S. tons in 2018. The series was 39.940 million U.S. tons in 2000, dipped to 37.680 million in 2010, and reached 41.060 million in 2017 before the 2018 observation.
These observations describe generation, not the share recycled. The distinction is important for readers comparing shipping cartons, paperboard containers, and other packaging with the wider MSW paper-and-paperboard stream.
European Paper Recycling Rates and Regional Benchmarks
Cepi’s European rate is defined as recycling of used paper, including net trade in paper for recycling, divided by paper-and-board consumption. Its Europe grouping covers the EU-27 plus the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland.
| Year or region | Paper recycling rate | Definition or coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 Europe | 40.3% | Paper and board consumption |
| 2000 Europe | 51.8% | Paper and board consumption |
| 2010 Europe | 68.5% | Paper and board consumption |
| 2015 Europe | 71.9% | Paper and board consumption |
| 2022 Cepi Europe | 71.1% | Regional comparison |
| 2022 Asia | 56.9% | Regional comparison |
| 2022 North America | 67.6% | Regional comparison |
| 2022 Latin America | 47.1% | Regional comparison |
| 2022 Africa | 38.4% | Regional comparison |
| 2022 worldwide | 60.0% | Regional comparison |
Source: European Paper Recycling Council Monitoring Report 2023 for the European Declaration on Paper Recycling 2021-2030. The regional 2022 comparison is not identical to the 2023 Cepi Europe series.
Europe’s reported rate rose from 40.3% in 1991 to 50.2% in 1998, 51.8% in 2000, 61.8% in 2005, 68.5% in 2010, and 71.9% in 2015. The 2022 comparison places Cepi Europe at 71.1%, alongside distinct rates for Asia, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the world.
The 2021 EU-27 paper and cardboard packaging recycling rate was 82.5%. Cepi identifies this as a packaging measure reproduced from Eurostat, so it is not directly comparable with the U.S. EPA MSW rate or the all-paper European paper-value-chain rate.
Recent European Paper Recycling Flows, Cycles, and Trade
Cepi reported a European paper recycling rate of 79.3% in 2023, but cautioned that the high rate was partly influenced by low apparent consumption and excluded some stocks in the supply chain. The sector’s three-year rolling-average rate was 74.4% for 2021–2023, a derived measure intended to smooth annual fluctuations.
In 2023, Europe collected and recycled 53.7 million tonnes of paper and board, while European paper and board consumption was 67.7 million tonnes. The collection figure is a paper-sector flow, not all paper entering municipal waste systems, and the consumption denominator is affected by stock movements.
The 2023 distribution also shows different thresholds across the monitored European countries:
- Nineteen European countries exceeded a 70% paper recycling rate in 2023.
- Four European countries were below a 60% paper recycling rate in 2023.
European mills used 45.4 million tonnes of paper for recycling domestically in 2023. When net trade was excluded, Europe’s derived domestic recycling rate was 67.1%, defined by Cepi as European mill paper-for-recycling utilisation divided by paper-and-board consumption.
A further 8.2 million tonnes of paper for recycling, equal to 15.4% of Europe’s 53.7 million-tonne collection, was bought by third countries in 2023. This is a trade-flow measure rather than proof of the final recycling outcome in the importing countries, and European net exports of paper for recycling increased 45.0% from 2022 to 2023.
Cepi also estimated an average of 4.8 recycling-and-use cycles per fibre in Europe during 2023. The comparable world average was 2.5 cycles per fibre in 2022; neither figure means that every individual fibre completed exactly that number of cycles.