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Indicator Assessment
Latest available trends show that recycling rates for both municipal waste and packaging waste have increased substantially: recycling rates for municipal waste increased by 13 percentage points between 2004 and 2014, and recycling rates for packaging waste by 10 percentage points between 2005 and 2013. In 2014, 43 % of the municipal waste generated in the EU-27 and Norway was recycled, while in 2013, 65 % of packaging waste generated was recycled. These improvements are, among others, driven by EU targets for the recycling of these two waste streams introduced in 1994 and 2008, respectively. Higher overall recycling rates for packaging waste compared to municipal waste probably result from the earlier introduction of packaging waste targets, producer responsibility schemes and the relative ease of recycling packaging waste from commercial sources.
For municipal waste, large differences in recycling rates between European countries prevail; in 2014, the rates ranged from 64 % in Germany to 1 % in Serbia. In six countries, recycling rates were equal or higher than 50 %, while five countries recycled less than 20 %. In 2014, 24 countries recycled 55 % or more packaging waste and overall recycling rates ranged from 81 % in Belgium to 41 % in Malta. These differences indicate a large potential for improvement.
A key principle of EU waste legislation is to move waste management up the ‘waste hierarchy’ (i.e. waste prevention, preparing for reuse, recycling, other methods of recovery and disposal). This approach is a key way to extract more value from resources, and recycling plays a crucial role. The main aim is to increasingly meet the material demand of the economy by using secondary raw materials made of recycled waste, preventing the environmental impacts associated with extracting and refining virgin materials, and contributing to the security of supply.
This indicator shows how the progress Europe is making towards the goal to recycle more waste, using municipal solid waste (in the text called municipal waste) and packaging waste as examples.
For these two waste streams, legally binding quantitative targets for recycling exist in EU legislation. The Waste Framework Directive sets a target of 50 % of municipal waste (more precisely the target applies to specific types of household and similar wastes) to be recycled by 2020 in individual countries (except Turkey and Switzerland). The Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) requires EU Member States to recycle at least 55 % of packaging waste by 2008. Several countries have different target years for meeting the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive targets: 2012 for the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia; 2013 for Malta; 2014 for Poland; 2015 for Latvia. In addition, Romania and Bulgaria have been granted specific derogations, defined in their respective Treaties of Accession. In December 2015, the European Commission proposed a new set of more ambitious targets for recycling of both municipal and packaging waste, as part of its circular economy strategy.
The recycling rate of municipal waste grew continuously by 13 percentage points in the EU-27 countries and Norway in the period 2004-2014 (Figure 1), which clearly indicates improvements in waste management. In 2014, 43 % of municipal waste generated in the EU-27 and Norway was recycled, including both material recycling and composting, and anaerobic digestion.
The difference in municipal waste recycling performance between the countries with the highest and lowest recycling rates is large. In 2014, rates ranged from 64 % in Germany to 1 % in Serbia (Figure 2). Six countries, notably Germany, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden, achieved (in descending order) recycling rates of 50 % or higher, while another six countries recycled less than 20 %, including two countries with less than 10 %. Ten countries – the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom – made substantial progress, with an increase in recycling rates of over 15 percentage points between 2004 and 2014. In nine countries, the share of recycled municipal waste has barely changed since 2004 (less than five percentage points change). It is important to note that these recycling rates cannot be used to assess the countries’ progress against the 50 % recycling target of the Waste Framework Directive, because countries can choose between four different methods to calculate compliance with the target. The data shown in figures 1 and 2 only show recycling rates according to one of those methods, the only one where time-series data is available. Moreover, the target in the Waste Framework Directive includes preparing for reuse while this is not included in the data used in this indicator.
Developments in the area of packaging waste are similar to those in municipal waste: the recycling rate of packaging waste grew from 55 % in 2004 to 65 % in 2013, i.e. by 10 percentage points in the EU-27 and Norway (Figure 1).
At the county level, 24 countries recycled 55 % or more of their packaging waste in 2014 (Figure 3). The recycling rate in 2014 varied from 81 % in Belgium to 41 % in Malta, but on average, the differences (measured as standard deviation) in recycling rates between countries has decreased since 2004. The highest increases since 2004 were of over 30 percentage points and they occurred in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia, which indicates that these countries have caught up quickly. Another nine countries managed to increase their recycling rates by more than 15 percentage points. In Austria, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg - countries with high recycling rates already in 2004 - recycling increased by less than five percentage points.
Hungary and Malta missed their targets in 2014, Greece in 2013, and Iceland in 2012. Greece and Iceland had to meet the target by 2008, Hungary by 2012, and Malta by 2013.
It seems that the introduction and implementation of EU and national policies and targets have acted as drivers for the improvements made in the past years. However, regional and local policies within countries continue to play a significant role in the process. Recycling rates for packaging waste are consistently higher than for municipal waste, and differences in recycling rates between countries are higher for municipal waste than for packaging waste (measured as standard deviation). One reason for this is that targets for packaging waste recycling were already introduced in 1994, with 2001 and 2008 as target years, while the recycling target for municipal waste was only introduced in 2008 and has to be met by 2020. In addition, the target for packaging waste is more ambitious than that for municipal waste. The majority of countries introduced producer responsibility schemes for packaging waste, thus creating a mechanism for moving towards the targets. Moreover, packaging waste from households was, in many countries, the first waste type targeted for recycling of municipal waste. Finally, packaging waste from commercial sources is ‘easier’ to recycle because it contains larger and cleaner streams than municipal waste. However, it should be kept in mind that the two waste streams overlap as municipal waste includes packaging waste from households and similar sources.
All in all, while there is considerable progress reported by the countries for both waste streams, there is still room for further improvement - both for packaging and municipal waste - on the road to a circular economy.
This indicator shows trends in recycling rates for several waste types — municipal waste, packaging waste, waste excluding major mineral wastes and WEEE — at an aggregated European level (EU-28 and other European countries for which data were available). For municipal waste and packaging waste, data are also presented at country level together with related targets for packaging waste. Municipal and packaging waste recycling rates refer to waste recycled as a proportion of waste generated. Recycling rates for waste excluding major mineral wastes refer to waste recycled as a proportion of waste treated. WEEE recycling rates refer to waste recycled as a proportion of the average quantity of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market in the previous 3 years. Higher recycling rates indicate a more positive development towards using waste as a resource and a circular economy.
The unit used for recycling rates in all figures is percentage (%).
Europe's approach to waste management has moved from one aimed at reducing the harm to human health and the environment from waste disposal towards one that treats waste as an important resource. The overarching logic guiding EU policy on waste is based on the waste hierarchy, which prioritises waste prevention, followed by preparing for reuse, recycling, other recovery and, finally, disposal or landfilling, which is the least desirable option. The 2011 Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe (COM (2011) 571) contains a section on turning waste into a resource. This focuses on prioritising reuse and recycling and developing a combination of policies that help create a full recycling economy. In addition, the roadmap contains a milestone such that by 2020 'recycling and reuse of waste are economically attractive options for public and private actors due to widespread separate collection and the development of functional markets for secondary raw materials. More materials, including materials having a significant impact on the environment and critical raw materials, are recycled'.
The 7th EAP, adopted in November 2013, stresses the need for the full implementation of EU waste legislation with a particular focus on the waste hierarchy. The vision set out in the 7th EAP is that 'recycled waste should be used as a major, reliable source of raw material for the Union, through the development of non-toxic material cycles'. Although existing waste policies have been successful so far, there is still large potential to move towards a circular economy where ultimately nothing is wasted.
In 2015, the European Commission adopted the action plan for the circular economy. The 2015 circular economy package contains a vision and a list of concrete actions along the whole value chain aimed at moving towards a circular economy in Europe, including in relation to design and production, through consumption to waste and secondary raw materials management. In this way, the circular economy concept can be implemented not only through waste policies, but also through policies on industry, competitiveness, products and raw materials.
EU waste policies include a number of specific provisions and targets for the collection, recycling and diversion from landfill of different waste streams, such as packaging, end-of-life vehicles, WEEE, batteries and municipal and biodegradable municipal waste.
In 2018, the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) were amended and new targets and provisions for municipal waste and packaging waste adopted.
Article 11 of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) was amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851 and includes the following targets and provisions to be achieved by all Member States:
Article 20 of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) was also amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851 and sets the following target to be achieved by Member States:
Article 6 of the Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC) was amended by Directive (EU) 2018/852 in 2018 and includes the following targets:
Several Member States had varying derogation periods for the old 2018 targets which are still applicable. Specifically, the derogation period for Czechia, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia was set to 2012, and for Malta to 2013. Poland was required to meet the minimum target by 2014 and Latvia by 2015. Bulgaria and Romania were not included in Directive 2005/20/EC, amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.
Article 6 of the Directive 2004/12/EC amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste:
The European strategy for plastics in a circular economy set a target for plastics packaging:
Annex V to Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) sets minimal recycling and reuse targets for different categories of WEEE.
Fig. 1: Recycling rates in Europe by waste stream
The recycling rates for municipal and packaging waste are calculated by dividing the amount of waste recycled by the amount of waste generated for each year. Recycling of municipal waste includes material recycling and composting and anaerobic digestion. The recycling rate for waste excluding major mineral wastes is calculated by dividing the amount of waste recycled by the amount of waste treated. The recycling rate of WEEE is calculated by multiplying the 'collection rate' as set out in the WEEE Directive with the 'reuse and recycling rate' set out in the WEEE Directive, where the 'collection rate' equals the volumes collected of WEEE in the reference year divided by the average quantity of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market in the previous 3 years (both expressed in mass units). The 'reuse and recycling rate' is calculated by dividing the weight of WEEE that enters the recycling/preparing for reuse facility by the weight of all separately collected WEEE (both in mass units) in accordance with Article 11(2) of the WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU), considering that the total amount of collected WEEE is sent to treatment/recycling facilities.
Fig. 2: Municipal waste recycling rates in Europe by country
The municipal waste recycling rate is calculated by dividing the amount of municipal waste recycled by the amount of municipal waste generated for each respective year for each country individually. The recycling rate includes material recycling and composting and digestion.
Fig. 3: Packaging waste recycling rates in Europe by country
The packaging waste recycling rate is calculated by dividing the amount of packaging waste recycled by the amount of packaging waste generated for each respective year for each country individually. The figure includes horizontal lines showing the recycling targets set in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, which stipulates a minimum recycling rate of 55 % of packaging waste by 2008, 65 % by 2025 and 70 % by 2030. Not all countries had the same deadline for attaining these targets: acceding countries to the European Union negotiated derogations for reaching the 2008 target to no later than 2012 (Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia), 2013 (Malta), 2014 (Poland) or 2015 (Latvia). Bulgaria and Romania were not included in Directive 2005/20/EC, amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.
Several methods for gap filling were applied. Where data for the latest data year were missing for a country, this gap was filled with data from the latest available year. If EU-28 aggregate data were missing, they were calculated as the sum of the country-specific data for the EU-28 countries. The average value of adjacent years was calculated for missing data if possible.
No uncertainty has been identified in the methodology used to process this indicator.
Data set uncertainties can be found directly in the metadata and explanatory notes provided by Eurostat.
No uncertainty has been identified in the rationale for this indicator.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/waste-recycling-1/assessment or scan the QR code.
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