According to a report from the World Economic Forum, LLC, Germany leads the other countries in the world with the best recycling rate. Austria, South Korea, and Wales follow closely in second, third, and fourth place. Each of these four countries “recycle between 52% and 56% of their municipal waste.” This is very impressive and sadly, the United States comes in 25th place with a recycling rate of less than 35%.
The report also points out the commonalities these countries share: “government policies that encourage recycling, good funding for recycling; and financial incentives. They also set clear performance targets and policy objectives for local governments.”