Manufacturing Waste Management Trend
The following graph shows the 10-year trend in TRI chemical waste managed through recycling, energy recovery, treatment, and disposal or other releases by the manufacturing sectors. For more details on quantities released, toggle to the “Releases only” graph.
From 2014 to 2023:
- Waste managed by the manufacturing sectors generally increased from 2014 to 2018, decreased from 2018 to 2020, and then increased again through 2023.
- The overall increase in waste managed was caused by large increases in recycling that started in 2014, driven by several facilities that each reported recycling one billion pounds or more annually.
- Excluding recycling, waste managed decreased by more than 1 billion pounds (-12%).
- Releases, combustion for energy recovery, and treatment of chemical waste decreased, while recycling increased. Recycling and combustion for energy recovery are preferred to disposal and treatment, because recycling and energy recovery use waste materials for a useful purpose instead of only destroying or disposing of them.
From 2022 to 2023:
- Waste managed: 3.5 billion pound increase (+13%), driven by two soybean processing facilities which reported a combined 4.2 billion pound increase in n-hexane recycled on site as part of a soybean extraction process.
- In 2023, only 4% of the manufacturing sectors’ waste generated was released into the environment. The rest was managed through treatment, energy recovery, and recycling.
The following graph shows the 10-year trend in quantities of TRI chemicals released by facilities in manufacturing sectors.
From 2014 to 2023:
An industry's value added is the market value it adds in production; it is the difference between the price at which it sells its products and the cost of its inputs. Value added for all U.S. industries combined is equal to the nation's gross domestic product.
- Releases from manufacturing sectors: 226 million pound decrease (-15%), primarily due to reduced air releases (-105 million pounds).
- Releases to water, on-site land disposal, and off-site disposal or other releases each decreased by at least 10%.
- It is important to consider how the economy influences chemical releases at facilities. This figure includes the trend in the manufacturing sectors’ value added (represented by the black line, as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Value Added by Industry).
- Sector’s value added: 13% increase. Releases decreased even as the sector’s economic activity increased.
From 2022 to 2023:
- Releases: 53 million pound decrease (-4%), largely driven by decreases in the chemical manufacturing sector.
Pollution Prevention in the Manufacturing Sectors
In 2023, 1,660 manufacturing facilities initiated over 3,400 pollution prevention activities to reduce TRI chemical use and waste creation. The most commonly reported type of pollution prevention activity was Process and Equipment Modifications. For example:
- A metal finishing facility reduced the amount of zinc used in its processes by implementing equipment repairs and better solution control practices which resulted in fewer plating bath turnovers and less waste sent off site. [Click to view facility details in the TRI P2 Search Tool]
You can learn more about pollution prevention opportunities by using the TRI P2 Search Tool. Facilities interested in exploring pollution prevention opportunities at their site can contact their Regional P2 Coordinator to arrange a free on-site P2 assessment.
This page was published in August 2025 and uses the 2023 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2024.