This graph shows the proportion of four different materials that were recycled from 1982 to 2010 in a particular country. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The line graph represents one country’s recycling rates for a range of common household materials over a 28-year period, from 1982 to 2010.

Overall

, the proportion of recycled paper and cardboard was the highest of the four classes of materials presented. Of interest,

however

, is the fact that recycling rates for

this

category started to make a steady decline as of 1994,

while

the proportion of recycled aluminium cans and glass containers continued to climb steadily over time. In 1982, about 65% of paper and cardboard was recycled. The recycling rate fluctuated slightly over the eight years that followed, hovering around the 65% to 70% mark, but shot up to a peak of 80% in 1994, after which it decreased incrementally falling back to 70% by 2010.

Although

glass containers were ranked as the second highest recycled material, the rate of which gradually increased from 1990 onwards, it is the uptrend of aluminium processing

that is

particularly notable. Cans were first recycled in 1986, starting at approximately 5%, but

this

grew considerably over the course of 24 years, reaching a staggering 45% by 2010.

In contrast

to the other classes, recycling of plastics (which was only introduced in 1990) has not been as popular, with the processing rate only rising modestly from around 2% to 8% over 20 years.