Containers and packaging make up the largest portion of municipal solid waste generated by weight, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual report for 2009.

The containers and packaging have contributed to almost 30%, or about 72 million tons, the report said .At the same time, the recovery of containers and packaging was the highest of any MSW category, with about 48% of the generated materials recycled.

In 2009, Americans generated about 243 million tons of trash and recycled and composted 82 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 33.8% recycling rate. On average, Americans recycled and composted 1.46 lb of their individual waste generation of 4.34 lb per person per day.

Americans recovered about 61 million tons of MSW (excluding composting) through recycling. Com-posting recovered about 21 million tons of waste. About 29 million tons of waste was combusted for energy recovery (about 12%).

In 2009, metals were recycled at a rate of about 34.5%. By recycling more than 7 million tons of metals (which includes aluminum, steel, and mixed metals), Americans eliminated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions totaling about 25 million metric tons of carbon diox-ide equivalent (MMTCO2E). This is equivalent to removing almost 5 million cars from the road for one year.

 The highest recovery rates were achieved in paper and paperboard, yard trimmings, and metals. Americans recycled more than 60% of the paper and paperboard they generated. 

About 72% of paper and paper-board containers and packaging was recycled, including 81% of all corrugated boxes.  The recycling rate for aluminum packaging was about 38%, including almost 51% of aluminum beverage cans.

 Almost 14% of plas-tic containers and packaging was recycled, mostly from soft drink, milk, and water bottles. Plastic bottles were the most recycled plastic products. Recovery of high-density polyethylene natural (white translucent) bottles was estimated at about 29%. PET bottles and jars were recovered at 28%.

Trash or municipal solid waste (MSW) includes items such as packaging, food scraps, grass clippings, sofas, computers, tires, and refrigerators. MSW does not include industrial, hazardous, or construction waste. In 209, about 132 million tons of MSW (54.3%) were discarded in landfills in 2009.