Eurostat: 517 kilograms of waste generated per person in the EU in 2024

According to the statement of the EU office recording the data for 2024, the largest amounts of municipal waste were produced in the year under review by citizens of Austria (782 kilograms/person), Denmark (755 kilograms/person) and Belgium (699 kilograms/person). The lowest amounts were recorded in Romania (305 kilograms/capita), Estonia (375 kilograms/capita) and Poland (387 kilograms/capita).

The amount of municipal waste per capita has increased in 20 EU countries since 2014. The most significant increases were recorded in Belgium (+274 kilograms), the Czech Republic (+228 kilograms) and Austria (+217 kilograms). In contrast, the largest decreases were recorded in the Netherlands (-54 kilograms), Denmark (-53 kilograms) and Finland (-25 kilograms).

On average, 248 kilograms of household waste per person were recycled in the European Union in 2024, compared to an average of 246 kilograms/person in 2023. In 2024, 48 percent of all municipal waste was recycled, compared to 43 percent (208 kilograms/person) in 2014.

According to the report The amount of municipal waste per capita in Hungary was 460 kilograms at the beginning of Eurostat’s relevant measurements in 1995. In the year examined in the report, it was 414 kilograms, while in 2023 it was 429 kilograms. Compared to the 1995 data, the amount of waste generated per capita in Hungary fell by 10.1 percent by 2024, they said.