Recycling is the recovery and reuse of materials from wastes. Solid waste recycling refers to the reuse of manufactured goods from which resources such as steel, copper, or plastics can be recovered and reused. Recycling and recovery is only one phase of an integrated approach to solid waste management that also includes reducing the amount of waste produced, composting, incinerating, and landfilling.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) comes from household, commercial, institutional, and light industrial sources, and from some hospital and laboratory sources. In 2000 the United States produces nearly 232 million tons (210.5 million metric tons) of MSW per year, almost 4.5 lb (2 kg) per resident per day. The percentages of MSW generated in this country include paper and paperboard, 38.1%; yard wastes, 12.1%; metals, 7.8%; glass, 5.5%; rubber, textiles, leather and wood, 11.9%; food wastes, 10.9%; plastics, 10.5%; and other, 3.2%.

Recycling is a significant way to keep large amounts of...