Waste — Emissions in United States of America

United States of America: Waste — Emissions was 4,940 kt in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
4,940 kt
Change on year
up 0.4%
Rank
15th
of 32 groups
All-time high
8,570 kt
in 1983
All-time low
4,540 kt
in 2012
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Waste — Emissions in United States of America, 1961–2023

02.0k4.0k6.0k8.0k196119922023

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

The most recent figure for waste — emissions in United States of America is 4,940 kt, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, waste — emissions in United States of America peaked at 8,570 kt in 1983 and was at its lowest, 4,540 kt, in 2012.

United States of America ranks 15th of 32 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.

Waste — Emissions in United States of America, year by year

Annual values for Waste — Emissions (CH4) in United States of America, 1961 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1961 4,800 kt
1962 5,150 kt +7.3%
1963 5,510 kt +7.0%
1964 5,880 kt +6.7%
1965 6,260 kt +6.5%
1966 6,650 kt +6.2%
1967 7,040 kt +5.9%
1968 7,450 kt +5.8%
1969 7,870 kt +5.6%
1970 7,470 kt -5.1%
1971 8,040 kt +7.6%
1972 8,100 kt +0.7%
1973 8,150 kt +0.6%
1974 8,180 kt +0.4%
1975 8,200 kt +0.2%
1976 8,300 kt +1.2%
1977 8,370 kt +0.8%
1978 8,430 kt +0.7%
1979 8,480 kt +0.6%
1980 8,530 kt +0.6%
1981 8,550 kt +0.2%
1982 8,550 kt +0.0%
1983 8,570 kt +0.2%
1984 8,550 kt -0.2%
1985 8,530 kt -0.2%
1986 8,540 kt +0.1%
1987 8,560 kt +0.2%
1988 8,560 kt +0.0%
1989 8,560 kt +0.0%
1990 8,250 kt -3.6%
1991 8,260 kt +0.1%
1992 8,290 kt +0.4%
1993 8,220 kt -0.8%
1994 8,160 kt -0.7%
1995 7,810 kt -4.3%
1996 7,590 kt -2.8%
1997 7,160 kt -5.7%
1998 6,820 kt -4.7%
1999 6,560 kt -3.8%
2000 6,390 kt -2.6%
2001 5,390 kt -15.6%
2002 5,090 kt -5.6%
2003 5,250 kt +3.1%
2004 5,100 kt -2.9%
2005 5,370 kt +5.3%
2006 5,490 kt +2.2%
2007 5,660 kt +3.1%
2008 5,920 kt +4.6%
2009 5,430 kt -8.3%
2010 4,860 kt -10.5%
2011 4,690 kt -3.5%
2012 4,540 kt -3.2%
2013 4,570 kt +0.7%
2014 4,610 kt +0.9%
2015 4,720 kt +2.4%
2016 4,760 kt +0.8%
2017 4,810 kt +1.1%
2018 4,850 kt +0.8%
2019 4,870 kt +0.4%
2020 4,870 kt +0.0%
2021 4,880 kt +0.2%
2022 4,920 kt +0.8%
2023 4,940 kt +0.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 6,290 kt 4,800 kt 7,870 kt 9
1970s 8,172 kt 7,470 kt 8,480 kt 10
1980s 8,550 kt 8,530 kt 8,570 kt 10
1990s 7,712 kt 6,560 kt 8,290 kt 10
2000s 5,509 kt 5,090 kt 6,390 kt 10
2010s 4,728 kt 4,540 kt 4,870 kt 10
2020s 4,902 kt 4,870 kt 4,940 kt 4

Countries ranked near United States of America

  1. 12 Thailand 906 kt compare
  2. 12 Melanesia 55.01 kt compare
  3. 13 Pakistan 820 kt compare
  4. 13 Republic of Moldova 36.7 kt compare
  5. 14 Colombia 759 kt compare
  6. 14 Syrian Arab Republic 36.5 kt compare
  7. 15 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 27.8 kt compare
  8. 15 Canada 757 kt compare
  9. 16 Lao People's Democratic Republic 16.9 kt compare
  10. 16 South Africa 751 kt compare
  11. 17 Morocco 702 kt compare
  12. 17 Timor-Leste 3.41 kt compare
  13. 18 Republic of Korea 701 kt compare
  14. 18 Polynesia 2.53 kt compare

See the full ranking of 253 places →

More climate change data for United States of America

All data for United States of America →

Frequently asked questions

What is waste — emissions in United States of America?
Waste — emissions in United States of America was 4,940 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest waste — emissions recorded in United States of America?
The highest recorded value was 8,570 kt in 1983.
What is the lowest waste — emissions recorded in United States of America?
The lowest recorded value was 4,540 kt in 2012.
How does United States of America rank for waste — emissions?
United States of America ranks 15th out of 32 groups with data for 2023.
Is waste — emissions rising or falling in United States of America?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United States of America data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Waste — Emissions (CH4). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Waste — Emissions in United States of America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/waste-emissions-ch4-fao-tier-1/united-states-of-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Waste — Emissions (CH4)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
253 places, 14,574 data points, 1961–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions Totals summarizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disseminated in the FAOSTAT Climate Change domains of emissions from agrifood systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). Emissions from other economic sectors as defined by the IPCC are also disseminated in the domain for completeness. Methodological details can be found at: https://files-faostat.fao.org/production/GT/GT_en.pdf