All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodies
An official website of the European Union | How do you know?
Environmental information systems
EN
The indicator shows the total generated amount of all types of waste from all economic sectors and households, and compares it with economic development measured as gross domestic product (GDP).
The waste generation per capita in Germany increased steadily between 2010 and 2018, resulting in a total growth of 445 kg/capita (10%) during that time. Only the most recent data for 2020 recorded a small decrease of 1.5%. This indicates the beginning of the German economy slowing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three major sources of the overall increase in waste generation can be identified from the underlying data: ‘mineral waste from construction and demolition’, ‘soils’ and ‘secondary waste’ (including leftovers from waste treatment). The increase in construction waste and soils can be attributed to increasing construction activity in Germany during that time, with a peak in ‘new orders in main construction industry’ between 2019 and 2020.
On the contrary, some waste categories show a decreasing trend. Most noteworthy are the decreases in ‘other mineral wastes’ (as a result of an ongoing decrease in mining activities) and ‘combustion waste’.
It is unlikely that the target of a significant reduction in total waste generation by 2030 will be reached. A slight decoupling of waste generation from economic growth can be observed.
References and footnotes
- ↵Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), ‘New orders in main construction industry in February 2023: + 4.2% seasonally adjusted on the previous month’, Destatis website, 25 April 2023, accessed 11 June 2025, https://www.destatis.de/EN/Press/2023/04/PE23_163_441.html.
- ↵Lutter, S., Kreimel, J., Giljum, S., Dittrich, M., Limberger, S. et al., The Use of Natural Resources: Resources report for Germany 2022, German Environment Agency, Dessau-Roßlau, 2022, https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/publikationen/the-use-of-natural-resources-resources-report-for.