Waste, 2021

Almost two-thirds (6 million tonnes) of total waste generated was construction and demolition waste, dominated by soil and stones, followed by municipal waste with 12% and by waste from thermal processes with 8% of total waste generated.

With very high occupancy of hospitals, as expected, the amount of waste demanding special treatment in collection and removal to prevent the spread of infection increased by almost 20%. 

The amount of waste from wood treatment and wood processing decreased by more than a third.
With 140,000 tonnes, hazardous waste represented 1.5% of waste generated. More than half was generated in manufacturing activities.

In service activities 5.5 million tonnes of waste was generated, which is 35% more than in the previous year. More than half was generated in public administration and defence activities. In the latter as well as in most other service activities, construction and demolition waste dominated.

The amount of waste generated in production activities also increased, by almost 300,000 tonnes or 11%.

Municipal waste represents almost 12% of total waste generated in 2021. Its amount increased by 6%, which on average amounts to 518 kg per person, i.e. 29 kg more than in 2020. This is the highest amount of municipal waste generated per person in the last decade.

Households generated almost 700,000 tonnes of municipal waste, which is 11% more than in 2020. More than a quarter of all generated municipal waste was mixed municipal waste, but the amount decreased by 1% compared to the previous year, and by more than 35% compared to 2011. 

In 2021, 8.1 million tonnes of waste was recovered through final recovery processes, which is 20% more than in 2020. The amount of waste used for backfilling increased by 36%, and the amount of recycled waste by 5%.

Mineral wastes were recycled the most (56%), followed by metallic waste (21%), animal and vegetal waste (7%) and paper and cardboard waste (6%). Other types of waste were recycled in smaller amounts.

In 2021, approximately 404,000 tonnes of waste was disposed of. 173,000 tonnes of waste was landfilled, of which 93% on municipal waste landfill sites, 5% on industrial waste landfill sites and 2% on hazardous waste landfill sites. Mixed fractions of municipal waste and residues after mechanical and biological waste treatment dominated among the landfilled waste (48% in total), followed by construction and demolition waste (28%), waste from pulp and paper production and processing (7%) and bulky waste (5%). Other types of waste were landfilled in smaller amounts.

In 2021, 4% more waste was imported and 10% more was exported than in 2020. Waste import increased mainly due to the amount of waste imported from non-EU countries. On the other hand, waste export increased solely due to the amount of waste exported to EU Member States. 

Tables with the latest data are available in the SiStat Database.