US textile waste: the annual tonnage, explained
The sourced figure, with methodology and the context buyers need to cite it.
The headline figure for US textile waste is roughly 17 million tons generated per year, drawn from the EPA municipal solid waste series. It is the number buyers and sustainability teams reach for when sizing the problem, and it describes gross generation before any diversion, which matters when comparing it against recycling or landfill figures.
US textile waste generated annually
US EPA, Facts and Figures (latest available)
Methodology
The figure is drawn from the US EPA's municipal solid waste "Facts and Figures" series, which estimates textiles generated, recycled, combusted, and landfilled each year. "Generated" is the gross total before diversion. Because EPA revises estimates as data is updated, cite the latest published edition and the year you pulled it.
Of the textiles generated, only a small share is recycled; the majority is landfilled or combusted. That gap is the opportunity secure destruction with closed-loop recovery addresses.
When you cite the figure, pair it with the source edition and year, and distinguish "generated" from "recycled" so the number is used correctly.
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