Waste — Emissions in United States

United States: Waste — Emissions was 3.41 kt in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
3.41 kt
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
83rd
of 169 countries
All-time high
3.59 kt
in 1999
All-time low
0 kt
in 1961
Years of data
63
1961–2023

Waste — Emissions in United States, 1961–2023

01234196119922023

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for waste — emissions in United States is 3.41 kt, measured in 2023.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, waste — emissions in United States peaked at 3.59 kt in 1999 and was at its lowest, 0 kt, in 1961.

That places United States 83rd out of 169 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Waste — Emissions in United States, year by year

Annual values for Waste — Emissions (CO2) in United States, 1961 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1961 0 kt
1962 0 kt
1963 0 kt
1964 0 kt
1965 0 kt
1966 0 kt
1967 0 kt
1968 0 kt
1969 0 kt
1970 1.76 kt
1971 1.8 kt +2.3%
1972 1.83 kt +1.7%
1973 1.86 kt +1.6%
1974 1.89 kt +1.6%
1975 1.91 kt +1.1%
1976 1.94 kt +1.6%
1977 1.97 kt +1.5%
1978 1.99 kt +1.0%
1979 2.02 kt +1.5%
1980 2.05 kt +1.5%
1981 2.07 kt +1.0%
1982 2.1 kt +1.4%
1983 2.13 kt +1.4%
1984 2.16 kt +1.4%
1985 2.2 kt +1.9%
1986 2.23 kt +1.4%
1987 2.27 kt +1.8%
1988 2.31 kt +1.8%
1989 2.34 kt +1.3%
1990 2.38 kt +1.7%
1991 2.38 kt +0.0%
1992 2.38 kt +0.0%
1993 2.38 kt +0.0%
1994 2.38 kt +0.0%
1995 3.45 kt +45.0%
1996 2.78 kt -19.4%
1997 3.48 kt +25.2%
1998 3.48 kt +0.0%
1999 3.59 kt +3.2%
2000 3.35 kt -6.7%
2001 3.35 kt +0.0%
2002 3.35 kt +0.0%
2003 3.35 kt +0.0%
2004 3.35 kt +0.0%
2005 3.35 kt +0.0%
2006 3.35 kt +0.0%
2007 3.35 kt +0.0%
2008 3.35 kt +0.0%
2009 3.35 kt +0.0%
2010 3.35 kt +0.0%
2011 3.35 kt +0.0%
2012 3.35 kt +0.0%
2013 3.35 kt +0.0%
2014 3.35 kt +0.0%
2015 3.35 kt +0.0%
2016 3.35 kt +0.0%
2017 3.35 kt +0.0%
2018 3.35 kt +0.0%
2019 3.35 kt +0.0%
2020 3.39 kt +1.2%
2021 3.39 kt +0.0%
2022 3.4 kt +0.3%
2023 3.41 kt +0.3%

United States compared with similar countries

  • United States's 3.41 kt is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.47 kt, 1.4× the median. (53 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Waste — Emissions in United States changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1995 +45.0% 2.38 kt 3.45 kt
1997 +25.2% 2.78 kt 3.48 kt

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 0 kt 0 kt 0 kt 9
1970s 1.9 kt 1.76 kt 2.02 kt 10
1980s 2.19 kt 2.05 kt 2.34 kt 10
1990s 2.87 kt 2.38 kt 3.59 kt 10
2000s 3.35 kt 3.35 kt 3.35 kt 10
2010s 3.35 kt 3.35 kt 3.35 kt 10
2020s 3.4 kt 3.39 kt 3.41 kt 4

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 80 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.83 kt compare
  2. 81 Maldives 3.82 kt compare
  3. 82 Somalia 3.46 kt compare
  4. 84 Namibia 3.1 kt compare
  5. 85 Albania 2.91 kt compare
  6. 86 Andorra 2.84 kt compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More climate change data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is waste — emissions in United States?
Waste — emissions in United States was 3.41 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest waste — emissions recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 3.59 kt in 1999.
What is the lowest waste — emissions recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 0 kt in 1961.
How does United States rank for waste — emissions?
United States ranks 83rd out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
Is waste — emissions rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Waste — Emissions (CO2). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Waste — Emissions in United States. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 21 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/waste-emissions-co2-fao-tier-1/united-states/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/waste-emissions-co2-fao-tier-1/united-states/">Waste — Emissions in United States</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Waste — Emissions (CO2)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
202 places, 11,581 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