For all its efforts to cut waste, each person living in the European Union generated in 2020 an average of 34.6 kilograms of plastic packaging waste. Of this, 13 kilograms (38%) was ultimately recycled, according to Eurostat, the EU statistics agency.
Since 2010, the volume of plastic packaging waste per inhabitant in the EU shot up by 23%, or 6.5kg. Yet although the per capita quantity of plastic has risen, so too has the EU's ability to recycle, going up by 32%.
However, the positive progression in recycling is not enough to offset the growing amount of waste that each individual produces. Only in the last few years have stricter regulations on plastic recycling come into force. This includes restrictions on single-use plastic, unnecessary plastics use, supermarket plastic bags, and other key waste sources.
In 2020, the EU harmonised their calculation of plastic recycling volumes, giving a more accurate picture of the state of recycling across the bloc. The latest statistics now provide a clearer insight into the state of European recycling.
Credit: Eurostat
Unsurprisingly, the highest levels of recycling were reported in the Netherlands, where 57% of plastic waste was recycled. Lithuania, Slovakia, Spain, Bulgaria, and Cyprus recycled more than half of their plastic packaging waste. Malta, France, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Romania, Poland, and Austria recycled less than a third of plastic packaging waste.
According to Eurostat, Belgium recycled 45% of its plastic packaging waste, down from 47% before the European metric was recalculated. The EU average is currently just 37.7%.
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While plastic packaging material remains a key source of waste within the EU, plastic accounts for just 19.5% of total packaging waste. The largest sources of packaging waste come from paper and cardboard, which account for 41.2%. In the 11 years before 2020, paper waste contributed to 32.7 million tonnes of EU waste.
Taking all types of waste into account, Belgium has one of the highest recovery and recycling rates of any country in the European Union. Belgium has the highest recycling rate in Europe, at 79.2%.
