The percentage of recycling that actually gets recycled varies depending on the material being recycled. According to the EPA, Americans generate more than 267 million tons of solid waste every year, and in 2017, only 94.2 million tons of that waste was either recycled or composted, which is only about 35% of the total amount. When it comes to plastics, the recycling rate is much lower. National Geographic reports that an astonishing 91% of plastic doesn’t actually get recycled, which means that only around 9% is being recycled. Nearly all of that plastic that does get recycled is actually downcycled, which means it gets less and less useful every time, eventually becoming so flimsy that it can no longer be recycled properly. A Greenpeace report cited by NPR found that only about 5% to 6% of the 46 million tons of plastic waste generated annually in the U.S. gets recycled.

On the other hand, paper and cardboard have a recycling rate of about 68%, while metals, such as aluminum cans, and glass, such as bottles, also have much higher rates of recycling than plastics.

Its important to note that recycling can be complicated, and the rules outlining how to do it vary from city to city, which might be one reason why only about 32% of our trash gets recycled. Additionally, some plastic items are designed in ways that make them difficult to recycle, or recyclers struggle to find people who want to buy recycled material. Contamination from food, dirt, or chemicals can also decrease the chances of recycling getting recycled.