Belgians are the second most efficient recyclers of plastic packaging in the EU, according to a recent study by Eurostat, the EU's official statistics office.
The study found that in 2021 – the most recent year for which there is available data for most EU Member States – Belgium recycled 49.2% of its plastic packaging waste, second only to Slovenia (50.0%). This is the highest rate ever recorded in Belgium. (Slovakia, Lithuania, and Bulgaria all registered greater rates in previous years, but have not yet published their figures for 2021.)
Belgium's recycling rate was also well above the EU average of 39.7%. It was also higher than in all neighbouring countries, namely the Netherlands (48.9%), Germany (48.4%), Luxembourg (39.5%), and France (23.1%) – the latter of which recorded the second-lowest rate in the bloc.
In terms of total per capita kilogrammes of plastic packaging waste, Belgians both produced less than the overall EU average (32.02 kg vs 35.92 kg) and recycled more (15.76 kg vs 14.24 kg)
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Nevertheless, the total amount of per capita plastic packaging waste produced in the EU has risen sharply over the past few years, from 28.01 kg in 2010 to 35.92 kg in 2021: an increase of 28.2%. The total amount of per capita waste produced in Belgium also grew over this period, from 28.96 kg to 32.02 kg: an increase of 10.6%.
Even more importantly, the total amount of non-recycled per capita plastic packaging waste in the EU increased from 18.18 kg in 2010 to 21.68 kg in 2021. In Belgium, by contrast, it declined from 16.95 kg to 16.26 kg.
