Waste in the United States Waste in the United States As a nation, Americans generate more waste than any other nation in the world, officially with 4.4 pounds (2.0 kg) of municipal solid waste (MSW) per person per day, with another study estimating 7.1 pounds per capita per day. Fifty five percent of this waste is contributed as residential garbage, while the remaining forty five percent of waste in the U.S.'s ‘waste stream' comes from manufacturing, retailing, and commercial trade in the U.S. economy. Based on proprietary data released to the public, Nevada was named America's "Most Wasteful State" for the years 2005-2010; where each
Food waste in the United Kingdom waste the most food by weight (); when taken individually however, members of a family that includes children waste the least food (). Contrary to both previous research and conventional wisdom, the report discovered that older people waste as much avoidable food as younger people (1.2 kg per person per week); in terms of mean average cost and weight of food waste, older people do waste less, although for retired households this may be because they are smaller. Other sectors also attribute to the amounts of food waste. The food industry produces large amounts of food waste, with retailers alone