Data extracted in November 2024.
Planned article update: 29 November 2026.
Highlights
(%)
Source: Eurostat (env_wasoper)
EU waste policy aims at establishing a circular economy where materials and resources are maintained in the economy for as long as possible and where the disposal of waste is the last option of waste management. This set of waste management indicators provided by Eurostat is a way to monitor progress towards more recycling and less disposal.
The set of indicators on the ‘management of waste excluding major mineral wastes’ measures how waste generated in the EU as a whole is finally treated, whether in the European Union (EU) or abroad. The indicator set reflects the treatment rates of the waste produced in EU by type of treatment.
The waste management indicator set combines treatment data collected under Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 (WStatR) with import/export data from international trade statistics (COMEXT database). WStatR treatment data provide information on the amounts of waste that are managed in EU countries, no matter in which country the waste is generated. Hence, the amount of treated waste reported by EU excludes the waste that arises in EU but is treated outside EU (e.g. because appropriate treatment facilities are lacking). However, it may include waste imported from outside EU for treatment. In order to link the treatment data to the domestically generated waste in EU the WStatR data are adjusted for imports and exports by means of trade statistics according to the formula:
Amount of domestically generated waste treated =
Waste treated in country (WStatR data) + Waste exported for treatment (COMEXT data) - Waste imported for treatment (COMEXT data)
The indicators are expressed in volumes of treated waste by treatment category as a proportion of the total amount of domestically treated waste. The indicator set comprises treatment rates for the six treatment categories defined in WStatR (see Table 1).
The set of indicators covers waste from all economic sectors and from households but excludes some mineral waste types that arise in large quantities and originate mainly from the mining and the construction sector. Table 1 illustrates the calculation of the waste management indicators and shows the results for the EU for reference year 2022, broken down by type of treatment. According to WStatR data, in 2022 a total of 642 million tonnes of waste excluding major mineral wastes were treated in the EU. This amount includes waste imports from outside the EU of around 85 million tonnes but does not cover 93 million tonnes of waste that leave the EU for treatment in non-EU countries. Overall, the EU is a net exporter of waste with net exports amounting to 8.83 million tonnes.
The adjustment for imports and exports results in a total of 651 million tonnes of domestically generated waste excluding major mineral wastes (see column 6 in Table 1). Overall, 56.3% or 366 million tonnes of the domestically generated waste were recycled. Energy recovery accounted for 18.8% or 123 million tonnes and waste incineration for 1.2% or 8 million tonnes of waste. 136 million tonnes or 20.9% of waste were landfilled; 0.1% of waste was disposed by other means.
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Source: Eurostat (env_wasoper)
Figure 1 shows the treatment of domestically generated waste for the EU from 2010 to 2022; the corresponding treatment rates are shown in Figure 2. The total amount treated was similar in 2010 (652 million tonnes) and in 2022 (651 million tonnes). The recycled amount has grown between 2010 and 2022 by 24 million tonnes, consequently, the recycling rate increased to 56%. However, it was slightly lower than in 2020. Energy recovery has also been on the rise since 2010 with an increase of 42 million tonnes. The share of energy recovery grew accordingly from 12% to 19%. A part of this increase is presumably caused by the reclassification of waste incineration plants pursuant to the energy efficiency criterion set out in the Waste Framework Directive. This partly explains the decrease of waste incineration without energy recovery between 2010 and 2022 by 27 million tonnes. The increase of recycling and energy recovery resulted in a diversion of waste from landfills. The landfilled amounts decreased from 2010 to 2022 by 37 million tonnes resulting in a landfill rate of 21% in 2022. Unfortunately, it increased slightly between 2020 and 2022.
(million tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (env_wasoper)
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(%)
Source: Eurostat (env_wasoper)
The recycling rate is highly relevant for measuring progress towards a circular economy. In 2022, the EU as a whole recycled 56% of domestically generated waste, which corresponds to 819 kg per inhabitant.
Landfilled waste represents an enormous loss of resources in the form of both materials and energy and so should be limited as far as possible. At EU-level, the landfilling of waste has been reduced in recent twelve years and amounted to 136 million tonnes or 21% of domestically generated waste in 2022. When related to population, 305 kg per inhabitant of waste excluding major mineral wastes were landfilled on average in the EU. Incineration and energy recovery are essential components of waste management in numerous EU countries. Incineration comprises the use of waste as fuel (R1), mainly in power plants and cement kilns, and the thermal treatment of waste for disposal with the aim of reducing the volume and/or the hazardousness of the waste (e.g. incineration of health care waste). In the EU, 20% of waste, equivalent to 292 kg per capita, was treatedto these two processes.
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
The set of waste management indicators is based on waste treatment data collected under Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 on waste statistics (WStatR). The data are adjusted for imports and exports using international trade statistics (COMEXT data) or national data on imports and exports of waste. The indicator set is available for every second year starting with reference year 2010 and covers the 28 EU Member States.
The indicator set covers both non-hazardous and hazardous waste from all economic sectors and from households. However, it excludes the mineral waste categories mineral wastes from construction and demolition (EWC-Stat 12.1), other mineral wastes (12.1, 12.3, 12.5), soils (12.6) and dredging spoils (12.7), which account for around two thirds of the total waste in the EU and mainly originate from mining and construction.
The waste management indicators are published by Eurostat as a pilot data set. They are considered as good approximations for the treatment of domestically generated waste but have some limitations, as follows:
- The Combined Nomenclature (CN) used for international trade statistics does not consistently distinguish between wastes and goods, i.e. some CN-codes cover not only wastes but also non-wastes (by-) products.
- Trade statistics give information on the geographical destination of the waste but not on type of treatment at the place of destination. Hence, the type of treatment is based on assumptions.
- If calculated at country level, additional limitations result from the fact that the statistics on intra-EU trade do not cover 100 % of the traded goods/wastes because of reporting thresholds.
Context
EU waste management policies aim to reduce the environmental and health impacts of waste and improve Europe’s resource efficiency. The long-term goal is to turn Europe into a recycling society, avoiding waste and using unavoidable waste as a resource wherever possible. The aim is to achieve much higher levels of recycling and to minimise the extraction of additional natural resources. Proper waste management is a key part of ensuring resource efficiency and the sustainable growth of European economies. For more information, see circular economy. To achieve this goal, the revised Directive 98/2008 of 2008 introduced a five-step waste hierarchy where prevention is the best option, followed by re-use, recycling and other forms of recovery, with disposal such as landfill being the last resort.
Waste management is the second largest contributor to employment growth in the environmental economy, as shown by environmental goods and services (EGSS) accounts.
Explore further
Other articles
Database
- Waste (env_was), see:
- Waste management by waste operations (t, %) (env_wasoper)
- Waste management by waste operations and waste flow (t) (env_wasflow)
Thematic section
Methodology
- Waste management by waste operations (ESMS metadata file — env_wasoper_esms)
External links
Legislation
- Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of 25 November 2002 on waste statistics
- Summaries of EU legislation: Waste statistics