The line graph illustrates the recycling rate, as a percentage, of four types of materials (papers and cardboard, glass containers, aluminum cans and plastics) for a specific country, in the period from 1982 to 2010.
Overall, paper and carboard maintained the highest recycling rate throughout the years. In contrast, plastic recycling maintained the lowest percentage, which was significantly less compared to other items. The recycling of aluminum cans and glass containers had an increasing trajectory, while some fluctuations in percentages were observed for both paper and cardboards throughout the years.
Paper and cardboards and glass containers were being recycled since 1982, In 1982, around 65 percent of paper and carboards were being recycled, while only half of the glass container in the country were processed for reuse. Both the materials experienced a temporary decline in recycling in 1990, however the rate soared both the following year. The rate of recycling reached its peak of 80 percent for paper and cardboards in the year 1994 but it experienced a steady decline and dropped to 70 percent by 2010. Meanwhile, plastic recycling steadily rose from 1194 to 2010 and accounted at 60 percent.
Aluminum recycled showed the best improvement out of all the materials. The recycling rate of this material started from around 5 percent in 1986 and grew at a steady pace till 2002, it then sharply increased to being around 45 percent by 2010. In contrast, the rate of plastic being recycled throughout the years did not improve significantly but grew from about negligible to only being close to 10 percent in 2010.