Dive Brief:

• The Environmental Protection Agency’s annual report on municipal solid waste notes that in 2013, Americans generated 4.4 pounds of waste daily per person. "Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures 2013," also states that the volume of MSW that was discarded from 2012 to 2013 dropped by one percentage point, to 52.8%.
• The U.S/ generated 254.1 million tons of waste in 2013, while composting and recycling 87 million tons of waste.
• Americans composted and recycled 1.51 pounds of waste per day in 2013. That year, recycling decreased slightly, while composting increased a bit.

Dive Insight:

The Solid Waste Association of North America hailed the EPA’s renaming of its report, which formerly was known as "Municipal Waste in the United States: Facts and Figures." The new name reflects a new focus for the report, SWANA said in a press release.

"The EPA is thinking beyond garbage and recycling and is transitioning from a concentration on waste management to a spotlight on advancing sustainable materials as resources," said David Biderman, SWANA’s executive director and CEO in estatement.