The question
The graph below shows the amount of household waste that was sent to landfill, recycled or composted, and incinerated in one country between 2000 and 2025.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Year
- Landfill
- Recycling and composting
- Incineration
| Year | Landfill | Recycling and composting | Incineration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 22 million tonnes | 2 million tonnes | 1 million tonnes |
| 2005 | 20 million tonnes | 4 million tonnes | 1.5 million tonnes |
| 2010 | 16 million tonnes | 8 million tonnes | 2.5 million tonnes |
| 2015 | 11 million tonnes | 11 million tonnes | 5 million tonnes |
| 2020 | 7 million tonnes | 12.5 million tonnes | 8 million tonnes |
| 2025 | 4 million tonnes | 13 million tonnes | 9 million tonnes |
Key features to report
- Overview: landfill went from the main method of disposal to the least used, while recycling/composting and incineration both rose; recycling became the main method.
- Landfill fell steadily from 22 to just 4 million tonnes.
- Recycling and composting rose from 2 to 13 million tonnes, matching landfill at 11 million tonnes in 2015 and then exceeding it.
- Incineration grew ninefold, from 1 to 9 million tonnes, overtaking landfill in 2020.
- The growth in recycling slowed after 2015.
Model answer
183 words · written by Abroadway to show band 9 features (not an official IELTS sample)
The line graph shows how much household waste was disposed of by three different methods in one country between 2000 and 2025, measured in millions of tonnes.
Overall, landfill went from being by far the dominant method to the least used, while both recycling and incineration grew substantially. By the end of the period, recycling and composting had become the main way of dealing with household waste.
In 2000, 22 million tonnes of waste went to landfill, compared with just 2 million tonnes that were recycled or composted and a mere 1 million tonnes that were incinerated. Over the next fifteen years, the amount sent to landfill fell continuously, while recycling rose rapidly, and the two figures converged at 11 million tonnes in 2015.
After this point, the gap widened in the opposite direction. Recycling continued to grow, albeit more slowly, reaching 13 million tonnes in 2025, whereas landfill dropped to only 4 million tonnes, less than a fifth of its 2000 level. Incineration, meanwhile, increased ninefold over the period, overtaking landfill in 2020 and standing at 9 million tonnes at the end.
Useful language
- landfill
- recycling
- incineration
- million tonnes
- converged
- dominant
- ninefold
- overtaking
- overall
Step-by-step method in the free lesson Line graphs and the language of trends.
Write your own report and get a band estimate
Free, no account needed. Aim for 20 minutes and at least 150 words.