MONTREAL (RecyclingMonster): The U.S. residential recycling stream is becoming lighter, more varied and more operationally complex as household packaging and printed-paper generation changes, according to The Recycling Partnership’s 2026 State of Recycling report.

The September installment, titled The Evolving Ton: Residential Generation Data, examines changes across 16 material categories and their implications for collection, materials recovery facility operations, end markets, resident participation and recycling investment.

The broader 2026 report draws on The Recycling Partnership’s National Recycling Database, multi-year field measurement studies and other recycling-system data. The database covers more than 9,000 recycling programs serving approximately 97% of the U.S. population.

Household Recycling Material Mix Has Shifted Since 2020

Since 2020, the number of U.S. households has increased by approximately 8.5 million. At the same time, generation of traditionally collected materials declined by 3.7 million tons, or 8%, excluding film.

The Partnership estimates that households now generate roughly 705 pounds of traditionally collected recyclable materials plus film and flexible packaging each year.

The decline in overall tonnage masks significant changes within individual material categories. Cardboard generation increased 32% per household, while cartons recorded the largest increase among the categories highlighted in the report, rising 61%.

Non-bottle PET increased 48%, polypropylene rose 47%, aluminum foil and trays increased 44%, and aluminum cans were up 18%.

Other traditional materials moved in the opposite direction. Mixed paper generation declined 34%, while glass fell 28%.

Collection and MRF Infrastructure Face a Changing Material Stream

The composition of the residential stream has also shifted substantially. Cardboard, metals and plastic containers represented 39% of traditionally collected material generation in 2020, compared with 51% in 2026.

When film and flexible packaging are included, plastics account for 31% of residential generation, compared with 28% for mixed paper.

The Recycling Partnership estimates that U.S. households will generate 51.5 million tons of packaging and printed paper in 2026, with 78% falling within material categories traditionally collected through residential recycling systems.

These changes have operational implications beyond the household recycling bin. The report says packaging design, collection systems, MRF processing capabilities and end-market demand need to remain aligned as the material mix evolves.

The Partnership identifies collection and processing investment, stronger markets for recovered material, resident participation and policy as interconnected parts of the recycling system. It also points to extended producer responsibility programs as one mechanism for supporting system improvements, while noting that continued investment is also needed in states without packaging EPR programs.

As packaging and printed-paper formats continue to change, the report concludes that the recycling system responsible for collecting, sorting and marketing those materials will require corresponding investment and innovation.