According to the EPA, the average American produces 4.5 pounds of trash per day, with just 1 pound recycled. That means, in a year, we generate 1642 pounds of trash each year, averaging only 365 pounds recycled. There are roughly 305 million people living in the U.S., that means each year 499 BILLION pounds of trash are produced. That is a lot of WASTE! For example, recycling an aluminum can save 95 percent of the energy required to make the same amount of aluminum from virgin materials. Oklahoma, aerial image (shot from a plane).