The potential energy and environmental benefits of global recyclable resources

Highlights: • Energy and environmental benefits of paper and plastic waste are assessed. • Daily paper waste increased by 32.8% in 2025, while plastic waste increased by 39.5%. • Globally, an average of 63.6% of electricity was saved daily in 2012 and 2025. • A record of 1.38 M and 1.90 M ktons CO₂eq/day of GHG was saved in 2012 and 2025. • The daily diesel saved due to recycling increased by 37.7% in 2025. Globally, the production of vast volumes of municipal solid waste impacts public health and the climate. Greening the solid waste sector could contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, this study assessed how the potential electricity and environmental benefits of recycling paper and plastic wastes could contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. The study used model equations methods to estimate the electricity consumption, diesel consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions saved due to recycling. The key findings show that the 132.4 thousand toe/day of electricity saved globally in 2012 soared to 182.3 thousand toe/day in 2025. In 2012 and 2025, an average of 63.6% of electricity was saved. Globally, recycling saved a record of 1.4 million ktons CO₂eq/day of GHG emissions in 2012 and 1.9 million ktons CO₂eq/day in 2025. It was further realized that the overall volume of diesel fuel saved in 2012 grew from 511,146 to 703,887 million Liters/day in 2025, representing a rise of 37.7%. The sensitivity analysis shows an increase in the waste collection rate, the fraction of paper waste, the fraction of plastic waste, and the recycling rate in 2025 will boost recyclable resources' energy and environmental benefits. The findings of this study could offer scientific guidance for the achievement of the SDGs related to solid waste recycling and management.