79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste were generated in the EU in 2023, according to Eurostat, amounting to 177.8 kg per inhabitant, down 8.7 kg per capita compared to 2022, but 21.2 kg higher than the figure in 2013.
The figures from the EU’s statistics agency show that, out of all the packaging waste generated, 40.4% was paper and cardboard, 19.8% was plastic, 18.8% glass, 15.8% wood, 4.9% metal and 0.2% other packaging.
An average of 35.3 kg of plastic packaging waste was generated in 2023 for each person living in the EU. Out of this, 14.8 kg were recycled. The amount of generated plastic waste decreased by 1.0 kg compared with 2022, while the amount of recycled plastic waste increased by 0.1 kg. Between 2013 and 2023, the amount of plastic packaging waste generated increased by 6.4 kg per capita, while the amount recycled increased by 3.8 kg.
This information comes from data on packaging waste published by Eurostat. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on packaging waste.
The EU recycled 42.1% of all the generated plastic packaging waste in 2023, indicating an increase in the recycling rate compared with 2013 (38.2%).
Belgium recorded the highest recycling rate at 59.5%, followed by Latvia (59.2%) and Slovakia (54.1%).
In contrast, the lowest rates were recorded in Hungary (23.0%), France (25.7%) and Austria (26.9%).
