EPA's wood packaging data, 1960–2018
EPA estimates 11.53 million tons of wood containers and packaging were generated in 2018, of which 3.10 million were recycled, 1.65 million combusted with energy recovery and 6.78 million landfilled. Wood packaging is mostly pallets. 2018 is still the latest year EPA publishes, as of its October 2026 page update.
The series
| Year | Generated | Recycled | Combusted (energy recovery) | Landfilled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2,000 | – | – | 2,000 |
| 1970 | 2,070 | – | 10 | 2,060 |
| 1980 | 3,940 | – | 80 | 3,860 |
| 1990 | 8,180 | 130 | 1,370 | 6,680 |
| 2000 | 8,610 | 1,370 | 1,400 | 5,840 |
| 2005 | 9,230 | 1,830 | 1,350 | 6,050 |
| 2010 | 9,770 | 2,280 | 1,330 | 6,160 |
| 2015 | 9,770 | 2,660 | 1,390 | 5,720 |
| 2017 | 11,560 | 3,030 | 1,670 | 6,860 |
| 2018 | 11,530 | 3,100 | 1,650 | 6,780 |
What 'recycled' means here
EPA describes wood pallet recycling as 'usually by chipping for uses such as mulch or bedding material, but excluding wood combusted as fuel' (EPA). EPA does not print a recycling rate for wood packaging on that page. 3.10 ÷ 11.53 = 26.9% is our arithmetic.
EPA's separate wood material page gives a different rate: 3.1 million tons of pallet recycling against 18.1 million tons of all wood in MSW, a '17.1 percent recycling rate' for wood overall (EPA wood page). Quote whichever denominator you mean.
Where the numbers come from
EPA says its wood packaging production data come from purchased market research and from Virginia Tech's Center for Forest Products research, and that pallets are estimated at over 90 percent of wood packaging. The generation figure counts pallets entering the waste stream, not every pallet in use.
Limits
- Eight years old. Pallet flows, pooling and recycling capacity have changed since 2018.
- Tonnage, not pallet counts, so it can't be compared directly with industry figures counted in pallets.
- National only; no state split.
Sources
- Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data (wood packaging, 1960–2018) U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026. Page last updated October 19, 2026; latest data year 2018.
- Wood: Material-Specific Data U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026. Page last updated March 19, 2026.