Composting statistics show a large gap between yard-trimmings recovery and food-waste recovery. The measures below cover municipal waste, named food-waste sectors, EU biowaste, and Canadian diversion, with periods and definitions kept explicit.
Key Composting Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- In 2018, 25 million short tons of U.S. municipal solid waste were composted.
- From 1990 to 2018, U.S. yard-trimmings composting grew to more than five times its 1990 level.
- In 2018, 32.1% of U.S. municipal solid waste generation was recycled or composted.
- U.S. food and yard-trimmings composting rose from 23.4 million short tons in 2015 to 24.9 million in 2018.
- In 2018, U.S. municipal-solid-waste composting equaled 0.42 pounds per person per day.
- In 2018, 63% of U.S. yard trimmings were composted, equal to 22.3 million short tons.
- U.S. food composting increased from 2.2% of food waste in 2000 to 5.3% in 2015.
- In 2018, 4.1% of U.S. food and other municipal-solid-waste organics were composted, equal to 2.6 million short tons.
- In 2018, 102,953,370 tons of U.S. wasted food were estimated across industrial, residential, commercial, and institutional sectors.
- In 2018, 3.4% of U.S. wasted food including industrial sources was managed through composting or aerobic processes.
- Excluding industrial sources, 4.1% of U.S. wasted food was estimated to enter composting or aerobic processes in 2018.
- In 2018, 35.6% of U.S. wasted food including industrial sources was sent to landfill.
- In 2018, about 3% of residential U.S. wasted food was composted.
- In 2018, 39.8 million tons of wasted food were estimated from U.S. industrial sources.
- EU municipal-waste recycling, including material recycling and composting, rose from 19% in 1995 to 48% in 2024.
- EU biowaste represented 28.8% of municipal waste in 2023, totaling 67.4 million tonnes.
- EU municipal waste generation reached 517 kilograms per capita in 2024.
- The average Canadian sent 51 kilograms of organic waste per person for composting in 2004, compared with 32 kilograms in 2000.
Contents
- U.S. composting scale and long-term trends
- U.S. food and yard-waste composting rates
- U.S. food-waste management pathways
- Residential and industrial composting data
- EU composting and municipal-waste trends
- Canadian household composting and organics diversion
U.S. Composting Scale and Long-Term Trends
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that the United States composted 25 million short tons of municipal solid waste in 2018. That total included approximately 22.3 million tons of yard trimmings and 2.6 million tons of food waste, so it is broader than household food scraps alone. EPA, National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling
| U.S. measure | Earlier period | Later period |
|---|---|---|
| Food and yard-trimmings composting | 23.4 million tons in 2015 | 24.9 million tons in 2018 |
| Recycling plus composting rate | 34.7% in 2015 | 32.1% in 2018 |
| Yard-trimmings composting | More than five times the 1990 level by 2018 | 22.3 million tons in 2018 |
The combined recycling-and-composting rate is not a composting-only rate. EPA also reports that U.S. municipal-solid-waste composting represented 0.42 pounds per person per day in 2018, a per-capita measure for municipal waste rather than household-only activity.
EPA estimated that recycling, composting, combustion with energy recovery, and landfilling together saved more than 193 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent in 2018, comparable to taking almost 42 million cars off the road for one year. Those are modeled benefits for multiple management pathways, not composting alone.
U.S. Food and Yard-Waste Composting Rates
Yard trimmings had a much higher reported composting rate than food waste. EPA’s historical estimates were:
- Yard-trimmings composting was 51.7% in 2000, 62% in 2005, 58% in 2010, and 61% in 2015 in the United States.
- Yard-trimmings composting reached 69.4% in 2017, equal to 24.4 million tons.
- Yard-trimmings composting was 63% in 2018, equal to 22.3 million tons.
- Food composting was 2.2% in 2000, equal to 0.7 million tons.
- Food composting rose to 5.3% in 2015, equal to 2.1 million tons.
- Food composting reached 6.3% in 2017, equal to 2.6 million tons.
- Food and other municipal-solid-waste organics composting was 4.1% in 2018, equal to 2.6 million tons.
EPA notes that the 2018 food-and-other-organics rate fell because the agency revised wasted-food generation upward while tons composted stayed at 2.6 million. The 2017 estimate also reflects a later methodology change affecting the denominator, so the percentages should be read as reported historical estimates rather than a perfectly uniform time series. EPA, National Overview
In 2018, food alone represented 24.1% of U.S. municipal solid waste sent to landfills. Food, yard trimmings, wood, and paper or paperboard together made up 51.4% of the U.S. municipal-solid-waste landfill stream; that is a landfill composition measure, not a composting rate.
U.S. Food-Waste Management Pathways
EPA’s 2018 Wasted Food Report estimated 102,953,370 tons of wasted food across U.S. industrial, residential, commercial, and institutional sectors. Its revised profile separates composting from other pathways and distinguishes estimates including and excluding industrial sources. EPA, 2018 Wasted Food Report
| Pathway, including industrial sources | Tons in 2018 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Landfill | 36,612,263 | 35.6% |
| Animal feed | 21,978,346 | 21.3% |
| Codigestion or anaerobic digestion | 10,691,756 | 10.4% |
| Controlled combustion | 7,747,441 | 7.5% |
| Sewer or wastewater treatment | 3,743,229 | 3.6% |
| Composting or aerobic processes | 3,455,273 | 3.4% |
Excluding industrial sources, composting or aerobic processes managed 2,592,566 tons, or 4.1%, of U.S. wasted food in 2018. Landfill managed 35,277,543 tons, or 55.9%, under that narrower scope, so the two percentages should not be compared as if they used identical populations.
The report initially estimated 4.8 million tons flowing to composting, then revised the aggregate state-data estimate to 3.4 million tons. EPA says the revision shifted 1.4 million tons to landfilling and controlled combustion in the model; this describes a modeling revision, not measured physical movement.
Residential and Industrial Composting Data
The sector estimates show why a national composting percentage cannot be treated as a household participation rate. In 2018, the U.S. residential sector generated an estimated 25 million tons of wasted food, and about 66% was landfilled.
- About 15% of residential wasted food was combusted in 2018.
- About 15% of residential wasted food went to sewer or wastewater treatment in 2018.
- Only about 3% of residential wasted food was composted in 2018.
- The U.S. food retail and wholesale sector generated an estimated 12.7 million tons of wasted food in 2018.
- Supermarkets and supercenters accounted for 8.7 million tons of that retail-and-wholesale estimate.
- Food wholesale accounted for 4.0 million tons.
Industrial sources generated an estimated 39.8 million tons of wasted food in 2018. Within that industrial estimate, animal feed handled about 51%, land application about 22%, and codigestion or anaerobic digestion about 14%; these are sector-profile estimates, and none should be relabeled as composting alone. EPA, 2018 Wasted Food Report
EU Composting and Municipal-Waste Trends
Eurostat’s long-term series combines material recycling and composting. Across the European Union, combined municipal-waste recycling rose from 37 million tonnes in 1995 to 111 million tonnes in 2024, while recycled waste increased from 87 to 247 kilograms per capita.
| EU measure | 1995 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal-waste recycling, including composting | 37 million tonnes | 111 million tonnes |
| Recycled waste per capita | 87 kg | 247 kg |
| Municipal-waste recycling share | 19% | 48% |
| Municipal waste landfilled | 121 million tonnes | 50 million tonnes |
EU municipal-waste generation was 517 kilograms per capita in 2024. In 2023, the EU-27 generated 234.4 million tonnes of municipal waste, and biowaste represented 28.8%, or 67.4 million tonnes.
Country composition figures illustrate variation in the material stream, not composting rates: biowaste was 58.4% of municipal waste in Romania, 42.6% in Greece, and 41.2% in Cyprus in 2023. Eurostat notes that country composition data can overrepresent mixed waste where full compositional analysis is absent. Eurostat, Municipal waste statistics
EU municipal waste sent to landfill fell from 121 million tonnes in 1995 to 50 million tonnes in 2024, a reported 59% decline. That change reflects all landfill-diversion pathways, not composting alone.
Canadian Household Composting and Organics Diversion
Statistics Canada reported that the average Canadian sent 51 kilograms of organic waste for composting in 2004, compared with 32 kilograms in 2000. The waste-management industry measure excludes some material composted on-site by waste generators.
Organics accounted for 16% of all materials diverted in Canada in 2000 and approximately 21% by 2004. The household figures include backyard composting, curbside pickup, and depot or drop-off participation, so they describe survey-based diversion activity rather than a single municipal collection system. Statistics Canada, EnviroStats: Is composting organic waste spreading?