That’s not a surprise at all, especially in the US. Recycling basically does not work in the US, and the population is not educated about this enough.
I think it’s because the people in these countries consume much more than people in the rest of the world and can afford to buy much more than those in other countries. That’s why they should be the first to consider ways to reduce the waste they produce per person. It’s not that difficult to do if you follow some tips from naturaler.co.uk. Even the bare minimum will reduce waste by a lot.
Of course, you should not go crazy about this because sometimes the solutions advertised as “eco” are actually more dangerous than the old ones.

That's a big difference from what was thought. Interesting. I already knew much of the recycling in America was just green theatre, guess it's worse than that.

. . . what a surprise