Some 81.5 million tonnes of packaging waste was generated in the EU in 2024, or 181.0 kg per inhabitant, new data from Eurostat has revealed.
Packaging waste per capita rose by 3.2 kg compared to the previous year, according to the data, or by 19.6 kg compared with 2014.
Paper and cardboard accounted for the largest share of packaging waste generated in the EU at 40.8%, followed by plastic at 19.9%, glass at 18.1%, wood at 16.2% and metal at 4.8%. Other materials accounted for 0.2%.
Plastic packaging waste
Looking at plastic packaging waste specifically, an average of 35.9 kg of plastic packaging waste was generated per capita in 2024, a 0.6 kg increase on the previous year. Some 15.3 kg of this was recycled, again a 0.6 kg increase on 2023.
Looking at the period from 2014 to 2024, the increase in plastic packaging waste has outpaced the growth in recycling. Over the decade, the amount of plastic packaging waste generated increased by 6.1kg per person, while the amount recycled increased by 3.4kg.
Recycling rate
Despite the rise in waste generation, the EU’s plastic packaging recycling rate also improved in 2024. The bloc recycled 42.4% of generated plastic packaging waste, up from 41.6% in 2023.
There were notable differences between EU member states when it came to plastic packaging recycling rates, with Latvia leading the way with 71%, followed by Belgium (58.2%), Poland (56.0%) and Czechia (53.7%).
At the other end of the scale, Denmark recorded a recycling rate of 22.5%, followed by Finland (26.9%) and France (27.4%).
Eurostat’s data covers packaging waste generated across the whole economy, including households, businesses and government. Read more here.
