European Union (EU) member states have significantly increased their material recycling rates, but the pace of growth is slowing, experts warn. On average, every EU resident generated 4.8 tonnes of waste in 2020 and only 38% of it was recycled. In some member states, more than 60% of the waste generated by households still ends up in landfill. Recycling waste is an essential way of reducing the consumption of primary resources by replacing them with secondary materials that have already been used at least once.
As Europe strives to create a comprehensive circular economy, the question arises – how are individual countries faring with waste management? How much waste is generated and recycled in Europe per head of population? And which European countries recycle the most? Sifting through the vast “mounds of data” in search of answers is complicated, but establishing various definitions helps to make sense of Europe's waste problems.
Households generate only 9% of the total volume of waste
In 2020, the total amount of waste generated in the EU by all economic activities and households was 2,154 million tonnes. That is 4,815 kg per person. Households generated only 9.4% of the total waste. Construction (37.5%) and mining and quarrying (23.4%) are largely responsible for the waste produced, generating more than 60% of the total volume. Waste management and water supply services accounted for 10.8%, and manufacturing for 10.6%.
A third of Europe's waste “arises” in Germany and France
Germany (401 million tonnes) and France (310 million tonnes) generated the largest share of the EU's total waste. As of 2020, the two countries were “responsible” for one third of EU waste – 19% and 14% respectively.
The United Kingdom (282 million tonnes), a former EU member state, produced the third largest amount of waste in Europe, followed by Italy (175 million tonnes) and Poland (170 million tonnes).
Since mining industry waste is one of the largest waste streams in Europe, excluding it makes it easier to compare countries, according to data from Eurostat, the EU's official statistical office.
How much waste do European Union residents generate?
In 2020, 4.8 tonnes of waste were produced per EU resident. This figure includes 3,080 kg of major mineral waste and 1,735 kg of waste from other sources. In other words, 64% of waste in the EU consists of mining industry waste, including waste rock and tailings (ore residues). According to the latest data, the amount of waste generated per resident in EU member states ranged from 1.5 tonnes in Croatia to 21 tonnes in Finland. Finland is followed by Bulgaria (16.8 tonnes) and Sweden (14.7 tonnes). In Germany and France, these figures were very close to the EU average – 4.8 tonnes.
Waste recovery or disposal?
In 2020, 1,971 million tonnes of waste were treated in the European Union. Because this figure excludes exports and includes imports, it is not directly comparable with the amount of waste generated within the bloc.
Waste treatment is divided into two main categories: recovery and disposal. Recovery includes recycling, energy recovery and backfilling – where waste is used to restructure excavated areas such as gravel pits and underground mines. Waste disposal includes landfilling and incineration.
Eurostat found that 39.9% of treated waste was recycled, 12% was used as backfill and 6.5% was recovered. The share of waste treatment in the EU rose from 45.9 per cent in 2004 to 59.1 per cent in 2020. The share of disposal, meanwhile, fell over the same period from 54.1% to 40.9%.
The recycling rate in the European Union is around 40%
In 2020, recycling accounted for 39.9% of total waste management in the EU. Recycling rates varied considerably – from 5.2% in Romania to 83.2% in Italy.
Recycling rates higher than the EU average were recorded in France (54.2%) and Germany (44%), the two leading countries in terms of the largest amounts of waste generated. The share of recycling in total waste was considerably lower in Finland (9.5 per cent), where the amount of waste generated per resident was the highest of all EU member states. The figure was also low in neighbouring Sweden (11.9%).
Eurostat data does not include the United Kingdom, but according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, in 2018 (admittedly 7-year-old data...) the share of “recycling and other recovery” in the United Kingdom was 50.4%. This figure does not include secondary processing (6.6%).
Why do recycling rates vary so widely across European countries?
The main reason for the enormous differences in recycling rates lies in the economic activities that generate the waste.
In 2020, mining and quarrying accounted for 75% of total waste in Finland, 77% in Sweden and 84% in Romania. Some of the EU's largest known mineral reserves, used in the manufacture of batteries and other products, are located in Finland, which has around 40 operating mines producing nickel, zinc, lithium, cobalt and gold.
Only half of municipal waste is recycled in Europe
What role do households play in waste management? They generate only 9.4% of the EU's total waste. Municipal waste statistics offer a small insight into household and office waste, as well as into the composition of household waste.
In 2021, almost half (49.6%) of municipal waste in the EU was recycled. The highest municipal waste recycling rate was in Germany. In 2021, the recycling rate for this waste stream ranged from 11.3% in Romania to 71.1% in Germany. Besides Germany, six other EU countries had recycling rates above the EU average: Austria, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Italy. In France, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries, by contrast, recycling rates are below average.
The municipal waste recycling rate in France was 45.1% and in the United Kingdom 44.1% (2018 data). Notably, the rate was below the EU average in four Scandinavian countries: Sweden (39.5%), Norway (38.2%), Finland (37.1%) and Denmark (34.3%).
Recycling rates have fallen in Norway and Denmark
Between 2001 and 2021, the municipal waste recycling rate in the EU rose by 21%. However, the European Environment Agency (EEA) warns that progress has slowed in recent years. Slovenia has seen the biggest increase in its recycling rate over the past 20 years – 57%. (Over this period, municipal waste recycling rates rose considerably in most countries.) In Norway the rate fell by 6%, in Denmark by 2% and in Austria by 1%.
Why is waste recycling more effective in some countries?
According to EEA data, countries with better recycling rates have introduced a broader range of measures than countries with lower recycling rates. These measures include, for example, bans on landfilling biodegradable or untreated municipal waste and mandatory separate collection of municipal waste, particularly biowaste. Economically stronger countries also have other instruments at their disposal, namely landfill and incineration taxes and collection charges, which do much to encourage recycling. The EEA also found that, in addition to effective implementation of national waste management legislation, a high level of environmental awareness within a country contributes to high recycling rates.
Europe exports some of its waste
The picture of the European Union's waste economy is incomplete unless we look at how much waste is “taken out” of the system. Waste exports to countries outside the European Union reached 33 million tonnes in 2021, 77% more than in 2004. Waste imports from countries outside the EU, meanwhile, rose by 11% over the same period, reaching 19.7 million tonnes in 2021.
Turkey was the most significant destination by volume for waste exported from Europe, receiving around 14.7 million tonnes in 2021, almost half (45%) of total exports. That was more than three times the 2004 figure.
Which European countries export the most waste?
The Netherlands exported 6.4 million tonnes of waste to countries outside the EU, followed by Belgium (4.3 million tonnes) and Germany (3.5 million tonnes). The Netherlands is home to the largest transit port for plastic waste. According to the Dutch charity Plastic Soup Foundation, United Kingdom waste exports to the Netherlands rose by more than 60% between 2020 and 2021. Over the same period, Dutch plastic exports to Latin America, Asia and Africa more than doubled, prompting participants in “green campaigns” to condemn the existing system, which allows Dutch waste exporters to “dump” their waste abroad.
https://www.euronews.com/green/2019/09/22/what-is-a-circular-economy-and-how-does-it-work
https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/29/gravity-batteries-abandoned-mines-could-store-enough-energy-to-power-the-entire-earth