The line graph presents data on how the recycling rates of four different materials namely paper and cardboard, glass containers, aluminium cans, and plasticsbchanged over a period from 1982 to 2010 in one country.
Overall, paper and cardboard consistently had the highest recycling rates throughout the period, despite a slight decline after a peak in the mid-1990s. In contrast, plastics remained the least recycled material, showing only minimal growth. Notably, aluminium cans experienced the most significant rise in recycling rates.
In 1982, around 65% of paper and cardboard were recycled, and this figure rose to a peak of 80% in 1994 before gradually declining to 70% by 2010. Glass containers initially saw a drop from 50% in 1982 to about 40% in 1990, but their recycling rate steadily increased thereafter, reaching approximately 60% by the end of the period.
Aluminium cans, which were not recycled at all in 1982, saw a consistent upward trend starting from around 10% in 1990, eventually reaching nearly 45% by 2010. In contrast, plastics began with a very low recycling rate of around 3% and experienced only modest growth, ending at just under 10% by 2010.
In summary, while all materials saw some level of improvement in recycling rates over the years, paper and cardboard remained the dominant category, whereas plastics lagged far behind the others.