Solid Waste and Recycling Data

How Much Waste Do We Dispose and Recycle?
Where Does It All Go?

We put our trash and recyclables at the curb or drop them off at the local transfer station and then what? Ever wonder what happens next? Actually, information about the types, amounts, and destinations of that material is used for a variety of purposes. In order to obtain that information, state law and regulation require solid waste and recycling data to be submitted to the Connecticut DEEP by municipalities and by permitted solid waste facilities. These facilities include, but are not limited to: transfer stations, resource recovery facilities, landfills, composting facilities, scrap metal facilities, recycling processing facilities, and C&D Volume Reduction Plants.

DEEP is currently undergoing a stakeholder engagement process to update annual data reports. Data through 2022 is currently available by request. Please contact Brenna Giannetti at brenna.giannetti@ct.gov for data requests or to receive notifications regarding the stakeholder engagement process. More information is available here. 

How is the Data Used?

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) data reported to the DEEP has been used to:

• Track the state and municipal MSW recycling, disposal and generation rates;
• Identify in-state disposal and recycling capacity issues;
• Calculate the environmental benefits resulting from the recycling of specific material types;
• Share information with other states looking at MSW import and export issues;
• Identify solid waste management needs;
• Develop and amend the State Solid Waste Management Plan
• Track the success of Connecticut’s recycling efforts and help identify recycling marketing issues;
• Track solid waste facility compliance with permit requirements;
• Help decide capacity for new solid waste facility permitting and for permitting expansions at existing solid waste facilities;
• Provide data to recycling processors, brokers, and manufacturers looking for sources of specific recycled materials for feedstock for paper mills and for other manufacturing processes; and

In an effort to make details of the reported municipal solid waste (MSW) and recycling data more accessible to the public, the Department will post data reports (audited and analyzed data) and raw data (unaudited data and preliminary analysis of unaudited data) on this web page as it becomes available.

Connecticut Solid Waste Data Reports

* Historically, through FY2008, municipal recycling tonnages were based on recycling reports submitted to the Connecticut DEEP by CT municipalities and disposal tonnages were based on reports submitted to the DEEP by CT transfer stations, CT resource recovery facilities, and CT landfills. Starting in FY2009 recycling data regarding bottles, cans, and paper recycled from each municipality will be based mostly on quarterly reports submitted to the DEEP by permitted solid waste facilities.

** Does not include MSW that was disposed directly out-of-state without first passing through a CT solid waste facility.

Miscellaneous Unaudited Connecticut Solid Waste Data

The data presented below reflects unaudited data and preliminary analysis of unaudited data as entered into the DEEP Solid Waste Database and will only be listed below until the data is audited, analyzed, and included in the Connecticut Solid Waste Data Reports (see table above). This data is broken down by 1) the receiving solid waste or recycling facility, 2) by town/city or regional solid waste facility of origin, and 3) by tons received by quarter (i.e. January-March, April-June, September-September, October-December). The fiscal year represents the period July 1st through June 30th. Please note that the Excel files require Microsoft Excel software to view.

Questions Regarding the Above Solid Waste or Recycling Data? 

Contact Brenna Giannetti at brenna.giannetti@ct.gov or 860-424.3536

Regarding Solid Waste or Recycling Reporting Requirements?
Contact Paula Guerrera at paula.guerrera@ct.gov 860-424-3334.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle

Content Last Updated March 13, 2024.