Plastic packaging waste in the EU: 35.3kg/capita

In 2023 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste was generated in the EU – 177.8kg/capita. This was an 8.7kg/capita decrease compared to 2022, but still above the 2013 level of 21.2kg/capita.

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2025/12-2026.01

Eurostat’s latest report reveals that 40.4% of waste is paper and cardboard, 19.8% is plastic, 18.8% is glass, 15.8% is wood, 4.9% is metal and 0.2% is other materials. Looking at plastic packaging separately, 35.3kg/capita was generated in the EU in 2023, from which 14.8kg/capita was recycled – this means that ~20.5 kg/capita wasn’t reused. Compared to 2022, the amount generated was down 1kg/capita, while the quantity recycled increased by 0.1kg/capita.