Printing waste is measured through several overlapping categories rather than one universal series. U.S. municipal paper-and-paperboard data, EU packaging records, office studies, and institutional case studies show the scale of discarded paper, the routes it takes, and the limits of comparing printer output with all paper waste.
Key Printing Waste Statistics
The most broadly useful figures span municipal waste, packaging, office consumption, recycling, and modeled impacts:
- In 2018, 67.4 million short tons of paper and paperboard entered U.S. municipal solid waste.
- In 2018, paper and paperboard represented 23.1% of U.S. municipal solid waste generation.
- In 2018, about 46.0 million tons of U.S. paper and paperboard municipal waste were recycled.
- In 2018, the U.S. paper-and-paperboard municipal-waste recycling rate was 68.2% by weight.
- In 2018, 17.2 million tons of U.S. paper and paperboard municipal waste went to landfills.
- In 2018, paper and paperboard made up 11.8% of all U.S. municipal waste landfilled.
- Paper and paperboard recycling in the United States rose from 5.08 million tons in 1960 to 45.97 million tons in 2018.
- In the historical 1994 fact-sheet context, banking and insurance offices generated 2.39 pounds of paper per employee per day.
- In the same context, general offices generated 1.27 pounds of paper per employee per day.
- In 2023, the EU generated 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste.
- In 2023, paper and cardboard accounted for 32.3 million tonnes, or 40.4%, of EU packaging waste.
- In 2023, EU packaging waste averaged 177.8 kilograms per inhabitant.
- In 2023, the EU packaging recycling rate was 67.5% by weight.
- In 2022, an estimated 12.8 million tonnes of paper and cardboard entered mixed EU-27 waste.
- In 2022, EU-27 paper and cardboard packaging had an 83.2% recycling rate.
- In 2021, European paper fibres were used an average of 3.5 times.
- During one study year, selected higher-education institutions in Oman used 5,200 reams of A4 paper.
- The Omani case study estimated 44.8% potential savings from changing printing preferences.
Contents
- U.S. printing waste scale
- Printing waste trends
- Office printing waste
- EU packaging and paper waste
- Recycling and missed recovery
- Office consumption impacts
U.S. Printing Waste Statistics: Municipal Paper and Paperboard
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s material-specific series is a useful benchmark for scale, but it is broader than printer waste. It includes paper products and paperboard in municipal solid waste, including nondurable goods and containers or packaging, and reports management by weight.
In 2018, the series estimated 67.4 million short tons of paper and paperboard in U.S. municipal solid waste. That represented 23.1% of total U.S. municipal solid waste generation.
The same 2018 estimate recorded these management pathways:
| 2018 U.S. pathway | Paper and paperboard amount | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Recycled | 46.0 million tons | Managed post-consumer material |
| Combustion with energy recovery | 4.2 million tons | Energy-recovery pathway |
| Landfilled | 17.2 million tons | All paper and paperboard MSW |
The overall paper-and-paperboard recycling rate was 68.2% by weight, while paper and paperboard made up 11.8% of all U.S. municipal waste landfilled. These figures are material-level EPA estimates, not printer-specific disposal rates.
Category differences matter when interpreting printing waste. Nondurable paper goods excluding newspapers had a 43.1% recycling rate in 2018, while newspapers reached 64.8% and corrugated boxes reached 96.5%; office paper is included in the nondurable-goods category but is not isolated from all other printed pages. EPA, Paper and Paperboard: Material-Specific Data
Printing Waste Trends: Recycling and Landfill Pathways Since 1960
EPA’s historical series shows a major increase in paper recovery over the long term, alongside a decline in paper-and-paperboard landfill disposal after 1990. The endpoints should be read as two observations in a long series, not as a constant annual trend.
| Measure | Earlier observation | Later observation |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and paperboard recycled | 5.08 million tons in 1960 | 45.97 million tons in 2018 |
| Paper and paperboard landfilled | 43.57 million tons in 1990 | 18.35 million tons in 2017 |
The landfill series also reported 40.45 million tons in 2000, 35.08 million tons in 2005, 22.00 million tons in 2010, and 18.28 million tons in 2015. The 2017 value was 18.35 million tons, while the 2018 material-specific estimate was 17.2 million tons under the current summary table.
Those values describe all paper and paperboard municipal waste, not only pages printed in offices or homes. They are best used to establish direction and scale, while printer-specific waste requires narrower measurement of misprints, unwanted pages, toner cartridges, and discarded print runs. EPA, Paper and Paperboard: Material-Specific Data
Office Printing Waste Statistics by Workplace and Employee
An EPA environmental fact sheet, using historical office-paper assessments in a 1994 context, reported that paper represented 50% to 75% of waste generated in a typical office. The fact sheet does not fully specify the office types or measurement basis behind that range, so it should not be treated as a current national office estimate.
Its cited workplace rates were:
| Office setting | Paper generated per employee per day | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Banking and insurance | 2.39 pounds | Historical 1994 fact-sheet context |
| General offices | 1.27 pounds | Historical 1994 fact-sheet context |
| Government offices | 1.13 pounds | Historical 1994 fact-sheet context |
The same EPA campaign set a 15% reduction goal against its 1993 photocopy-paper use baseline. All 27 EPA headquarters and regional offices participated, but the goal was a campaign target rather than an observed outcome.
These office figures predate current digital workflows and should be retained as historical cited rates. They still illustrate why employee count, office type, paper definition, and measurement period are essential when comparing office printing waste. EPA, Environmental Fact Sheet: Paperless Office Campaign Reduces EPA Paper use by 15 Percent
EU Paper and Cardboard Packaging Waste Statistics
Eurostat’s packaging series measures packaging waste, not all printed paper or office output. In 2023, the EU generated 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste, including 32.3 million tonnes of paper and cardboard, which represented 40.4% of the total.
| EU packaging material, 2023 | Waste generated |
|---|---|
| Paper and cardboard | 32.3 million tonnes |
| Plastic | 15.8 million tonnes |
| Glass | 15.0 million tonnes |
| Wood | 12.6 million tonnes |
| Metal | 3.9 million tonnes |
EU packaging waste averaged 177.8 kilograms per inhabitant in 2023, after reaching 190.1 kilograms per inhabitant in 2021, the peak in the cited 2014–2023 series. Packaging waste recycled per inhabitant was 120.0 kilograms in 2023.
Country comparisons show wide variation in the same reporting framework. Ireland generated 223.1 kilograms of packaging waste per inhabitant in 2023, while Italy recycled 162.2 kilograms and Germany recycled 149.3 kilograms per inhabitant; Croatia reported 42.3 kilograms recycled per inhabitant, with Eurostat identifying that comparison value as 2022 data.
The EU’s total packaging recycling rate was 67.5% in 2023. Belgium reported 79.7%, while Romania’s cited comparison was 37.3%, identified by Eurostat as 2022 data. Eurostat, Packaging waste statistics
Paper-Waste Recycling Outcomes and Missed Recovery Opportunities
A European Commission platform report separates collection from mixed-waste losses and treatment outcomes. In 2022, separately collected paper and cardboard waste in the EU-27 totaled 43.9 million tonnes, excluding specified sorting rejects and production sludges.
Paper and cardboard packaging accounted for 34.0 million tonnes, or 77%, of that separately collected material. EU-27 paper and cardboard packaging had an 83.2% recycling rate by weight in 2022.
The report estimated that 12.8 million tonnes of paper and cardboard entered mixed waste in the EU-27 in 2022, describing this as potential additional recovery based on reported recyclable capture rates. For treated separately collected paper and cardboard waste, about 1% went to energy recovery and less than 1% went to landfill.
| Fibre measure | Reported value | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Theoretical recycling potential | 78%–96% | Literature-based potential, not observed recycling |
| European fibre use, 2021 | 3.5 average uses | European average |
| Global fibre use, 2021 | 2.5 average uses | Global comparative estimate |
The fibre-use figures are averages, not guarantees for each product or printed page. The potential range likewise should not be read as a collection rate or a forecast of recovered printer paper. European Commission platform, Assessing the potential to enhance the circularity of bio-based waste
Printing and Paper Consumption Impacts in Office Studies
A peer-reviewed study of selected higher-education institutions in Oman measured paper consumption over one year and modeled associated environmental and economic impacts. It is an institutional case study, not a national or global office estimate.
The institutions used 5,200 reams of 80-g/m² A4 paper, reported as 13 tons of paper. Annual paper expenditure was 7,800 Omani rials, or about 20,280 U.S. dollars using the article’s currency conversion.
The study’s formula-based estimates were:
- 312 trees cut, based on standard formulas from the literature rather than a direct forestry count.
- 73,970 pounds of CO2 emissions, using the study’s lifecycle conversion.
- 144,742 kilowatt-hours of energy consumption, rather than metered electricity use.
- 29,614 pounds of solid waste, calculated from literature-based factors.
- 247,975 U.S. gallons of water, with the system boundary following the cited literature.
The study estimated that changing printing preferences could save 44.8% of the measured economic and environmental resources. That is modeled potential, not a verified post-intervention outcome, and the selected-institution setting limits generalization to other offices. The economics of paper consumption in offices