This graph shows the proportion of four different materials that were recycled from 1982 to 2010 in a particular country.

The chart illustrates the percentages of paper and cardboard, glass containers, aluminium cans and plastics that were recycled in one country between 1982 and 2010. In 1982, about 65% of paper and cardboard was recycled.

This

figure fluctuated before rising steeply to reach a peak of 80% in 1994. From

then

on,

however

, it decreased steadily to a level of 70% in 2010. In 1982, half of all glass containers were recycled; after dipping to a low of 40% in 1990, the glass recycling rate gradually increased to 60% by 2010. Aluminium cans were first recycled in 1986, starting at approximately 5%, but

this

number climbed rapidly over 25 years and by 2010 it had stretched out to 45%. Recycling of plastics,

on the other hand

, was not introduced until 1990 and,

although

the growth in

this

category was

also

constant, it was very slow, rising from around 2% to 8% over the period.

Overall

, the proportion of paper and cardboard that was recycled was the highest of the four classes of material, but

this

category experienced a decline after 1994,

whereas

there was a continuing upward trend in the recycling of the other materials.