Municipal Solid Waste by State: 50 States Ranked [2026]

The United States generated 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) in 2018, the most recent year with complete EPA data. That is equivalent to 4.9 pounds per person per day, or roughly 1,800 pounds per person per year, according to the EPA's Facts and Figures report.

The Sensoneo 2025 Global Waste Index puts the U.S. at 951 kilograms (2,096 pounds) of municipal solid waste per capita annually, ranking it among the worst performers in the OECD. Only Israel and Chile score worse on the index.

Of the 292.4 million tons generated nationally:

• •50% goes to landfills (146.1 million tons)
• •32% is recycled or composted (93.9 million tons)
• •12% is combusted with energy recovery (34.6 million tons)
• •6% is managed through other methods

The EPA's most recent composition breakdown shows containers and packaging make up 28.1% of MSW, food waste accounts for 21.6%, durable goods (furniture, appliances, electronics) represent 19.5%, nondurable goods are 17.3%, and yard trimmings make up 12.1%.

Michigan leads the nation in landfill waste per capita at 68.3 tons per resident — 72% above the national average — according to Statista and confirmed by Bridge Michigan reporting on IT Asset Management Group data. However, Michigan's numbers are inflated by interstate and international waste imports. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) reported in March 2025 that 18.97% of all waste disposed in Michigan landfills is imported, with Canada alone contributing 14.35%.

The Sensoneo Global Waste Index measures total MSW generation differently, placing California at 1,781 kg per capita annually (the highest), followed by Florida and states with large tourism economies. Montana, Nebraska, and New Hampshire each generate over 1,300 kg per capita.

The BigRentz study, which focuses on cumulative landfill waste per capita, ranks the top five states as Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ohio — all upper-Midwestern and eastern industrial states with legacy manufacturing and large landfill infrastructure.

Connecticut generates the least waste per capita at 8.65 tons per resident, according to HeySunday's 2024 analysis. States with the lowest waste generation tend to share several characteristics: strong recycling programs, bottle deposit laws, extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation, and dense populations with well-funded municipal waste services.

Minnesota, South Dakota, and South Carolina also rank among the lowest waste generators in the Sensoneo index. Minnesota pairs low generation with one of the highest tipping fees in the country ($119.69 per ton, per BioCycle), creating a strong economic incentive to reduce waste. Vermont and Massachusetts, both with bottle bills, also generate less waste per capita despite high population density in their metro areas.

The EPA breaks municipal solid waste into five major categories by weight. Understanding what's in the waste stream matters because different materials have dramatically different recycling rates and disposal costs.

• •Containers and packaging: 28.1% (82.2 million tons) — includes cardboard, plastic bottles, glass jars, aluminum cans
• •Food waste: 21.6% (63.1 million tons) — largest single material category; only 6.3% composted in 2018
• •Durable goods: 19.5% (57 million tons) — furniture, appliances, electronics, tires. Furniture and furnishings alone account for 12.2 million tons per year, with 80.2% going to landfills according to RTS
• •Nondurable goods: 17.3% (50.6 million tons) — newspapers, clothing, disposable plates, trash bags
• •Yard trimmings: 12.1% (35.4 million tons) — the most successfully diverted category at 63% composting rate

Durable goods — the category most relevant to junk removal — have a recycling rate of just 19.3% overall. Small appliances are recycled at only 5.6%, with 75.9% going directly to landfills, per EPA data. Major appliances fare better at 3.1 million tons recycled, largely because of scrap metal value.

The national average landfill tipping fee reached $62.28 per ton in 2024, a 10% increase over the prior year and the largest annual jump since 2022, according to the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF) report surveying 351 landfills.

Tipping fees vary dramatically by state, from $34.78 per ton in Kansas to $124.25 in Alaska. The Northeast consistently pays the most due to limited remaining landfill capacity, while Midwestern and Southern states benefit from available land and lower operating costs.

For a typical American household generating about 1,800 pounds (0.9 tons) per year, the direct landfill disposal cost alone is roughly $56 annually at the national average — before collection, transportation, and administrative costs that push the total household waste bill to $25-$100 per month.

The EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) database tracks more than 2,600 active municipal solid waste landfills across the United States as of September 2024. Of these, 488 provide landfill gas to one or more energy projects.

The number of active landfills has declined dramatically. The U.S. had roughly 7,683 landfills in 1986; by 2018 that number had dropped to approximately 1,269 according to EPA data — an 83% reduction. However, remaining landfills are much larger. The average landfill today covers roughly 600 acres, per the University of Colorado.

States in the West tend to have fewer, larger landfills due to available land. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, where land is scarce and expensive, rely more on waste-to-energy incineration and interstate waste exports. New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut export significant volumes of trash to Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia, where tipping fees are lower and landfill capacity is available.

Seven states face potential landfill capacity exhaustion within five years, one state within five to ten years, and three states within 11 to 20 years, according to SWEEP (Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol) data cited by Roadrunner Waste Management.

The Northeast has lost 30% of its landfill capacity since 2015. Nationally, America has lost over 15% of total landfill capacity in that same period, per SWEEP figures. The trend is accelerating as existing landfills reach permitted capacity and new landfill permits become increasingly difficult to obtain due to environmental regulations and community opposition.

States with limited remaining capacity face two options: build waste-to-energy facilities (expensive, with 5-10 year construction timelines) or export trash to other states. The interstate waste trade is a multi-billion-dollar business — Michigan alone imports nearly 19% of its landfill volume from other states and Canada.

For residents in capacity-constrained states, the practical impact is rising disposal costs. Massachusetts tipping fees at $122.63 per ton are not an anomaly — they are a preview of what happens when landfill space runs out. Those costs get passed to consumers through higher trash bills, more expensive junk removal, and stricter limits on what municipal bulk pickup programs accept.

Landfill tipping fees directly determine what junk removal companies charge. Every couch, mattress, or appliance that a hauler removes eventually ends up at a transfer station or landfill, and the disposal cost is built into the removal price.

In states with high tipping fees — Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, Washington, Alaska — junk removal prices are correspondingly higher. A single mattress that costs $5-$10 to dump in Mississippi or Kansas can cost $30-$50 to dump in Massachusetts. That cost difference gets passed directly to consumers.

Durable goods (furniture, appliances, electronics) represent 19.5% of the national waste stream at 57 million tons per year. The EPA reports that furniture and furnishings alone generate 12.2 million tons annually, with 80.2% going to landfills. Small appliances are recycled at just 5.6%, meaning nearly 1.7 million tons of toasters, microwaves, and vacuum cleaners go straight to landfills each year.

For homeowners trying to get rid of bulky items, the options depend heavily on what state they live in: some municipalities offer free bulk pickup (with weeks-long wait times), while others charge per item or have eliminated the program entirely due to budget constraints.

Nationally, 32% of municipal solid waste is recycled or composted, per the EPA. But state-level recycling rates range from 2% (West Virginia) to 63% (Oregon), per the Eunomia/Ball Corporation "50 States of Recycling 2.0" report.

The states with the highest recycling rates almost universally have one or both of two policies: bottle deposit laws (10 states) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging laws (7 states as of 2025). Oregon, Maine, and California — the top three recyclers — all have both.

The Recycling Partnership found that only 21% of residential recyclables are actually captured nationwide, meaning 79% of materials that could be recycled end up in landfills. Contamination at materials recovery facilities (MRFs) costs an additional $300 million per year, per a California Management Review study.

For a detailed state-by-state recycling breakdown, see our full Recycling Rates by State report.

The United States generates 951 kilograms of municipal solid waste per capita annually, according to the Sensoneo 2025 Global Waste Index. That places the U.S. among the three worst performers in the 38-nation OECD, behind only Israel and Chile.

For comparison, Germany generates approximately 632 kg per capita but recycles 67% of it. Japan generates roughly 336 kg per capita. The global average is approximately 740 grams (0.74 kg) per person per day, or roughly 270 kg per year — meaning the average American generates more than three times the global average.

The U.S. accounts for approximately 4% of the world's population but produces roughly 12% of global municipal solid waste. Despite generating far more waste per capita than most nations, the U.S. recycling rate of 32% significantly trails the EU average of 48% and Germany's 67%.

This report compiles data from the following primary sources:

• •EPA Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling (2018 data, most recent complete national dataset)
• •Sensoneo 2025 Global Waste Index (per-capita MSW by state and country)
• •EREF 2024 Analysis of MSW Landfill Tipping Fees (351 landfills surveyed)
• •BigRentz / IT Asset Management Group study (landfill waste per capita by state)
• •Michigan EGLE 2025 Annual Solid Waste Report (waste import data)
• •BioCycle State of Garbage in America surveys
• •EPA LMOP Landfill and Project Database (September 2024 update)
• •Yale 2024 Environmental Performance Index
• •SWEEP (Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol) capacity data

Note: The EPA's most recent complete MSW dataset covers 2018. The agency has not published updated national Facts and Figures data since then, though state-level agencies publish their own reports on varying schedules. Where available, we cite more recent state-specific data alongside the 2018 national baseline.

All data points link to their original government or institutional sources. This report focuses exclusively on municipal solid waste (household and commercial trash) and excludes construction and demolition debris, industrial waste, and hazardous waste.