Built upon The Partnership’s National Recycling Database, which tracks and analyzes live data from more than 9,000 community recycling programs across the country, Part One: Setting the Stage | Observations of the U.S. Residential Recycling System establishes a shared understanding and outlines five deeply interdependent requirements that must advance together for the system to succeed:
- Packaging: 100% of packaging needs to be recyclable.
- Access: 100% of households need access to recycling from their home.
- Engagement: Residents need to fully engage in recycling with 90% of households confidently placing 80% of accepted recyclables into collection.
- Processing: Recycling facilities need to effectively process 95% of the material.
- End markets: Recycling facilities need sufficient end markets.
“Strengthening our recycling system takes more than one breakthrough, one policy, or one actor stepping up,” said Keefe Harrison, CEO and Founder of The Recycling Partnership. “The first installment of the 2026 State of Recycling Report acknowledges the hard truth that voluntary commitments alone cannot deliver system-level change. It takes shared responsibility and consistent investment across all five requirements of the recycling system. When we make meaningful progress on each of those elements together, trust can be rebuilt as people see that what they put in the bin actually becomes new products.”
