Waste recycling in Europe, aggregated assessment level

Key messages

(16 Apr 2021)

The waste recycling rate — the proportion of waste generated that is recycled — is growing in the EU-27, indicating progress towards using more waste as a resource and achieving a circular economy. The rate of progress is slowing down, however, with little improvement over the past 5 years. Achieving a more circular economy requires a faster rate of progress, as the amount of waste recycled is still less than half of total waste generated. Specific waste streams show varying recycling rates, ranging from 66% for packaging waste to 39% for electrical and electronic waste.

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