Band 6+: The chart below shows the percentage of different types of household waste that were recycled in one city between 1992 and 2002. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar chart illustrates how the recycling of five categories of domestic waste in a city has changed from 1992 to 2002.

Overall, all types of waste followed upward trends throughout the period, with glass being the leading source. Additionally, despite overall increasing, cans experienced a significant fall in 1997 while the plastic’s figures remained stable in 1997 and 2002.

Looking first at the higher figures, glass began at approximately 15% in 1997, which was negligibly higher than that of paper. Glass’s figure then rose steadily to over 30% in 1997 and nearly 50% in 2002, the highest figure in the chart. Paper followed a narrower pattern, standing at around 28% in 1997 and just under 40% by the end of the period.

The other categories were both much lower. The recycling of cans stood at about 18%, nearly double that of plastic, at merely 10%. The figure for cans then followed by a substantial dip to around 15% in 1997, before peaking at under 30% in 2002. Meanwhile, the most moderate growth was recorded in plastic, rising to about 12% in 1997 and remained unchanged until 2002.