Waste, 4th quarter 2024

Much less waste collected and treated in the last quarter

From October to December of last year, 2.8 million tonnes of waste were collected, or 19% less than in the same period last year, mainly due to a decrease in the amount of construction and demolition waste. An even greater decrease, by a quarter, was among treated waste. 680,000 tonnes of waste were planned for recycling, which is almost 30% less than during the same period in 2023. Of this, the amount of waste recovered in biogas plants fell by a fifth, while in compost plants it increased by 5%. The amount of waste intended for energy recovery went up by a tenth, while half a million tonnes less waste was planned for landfilling, which represents a decrease of almost a quarter. The amount of waste planned for disposal went down by a fifth.

Almost half less bulky waste

Compared to the last quarter of 2023, slightly less municipal waste was collected (by 5%) amounting to 265,000 tonnes, although there was 13% more mixed municipal waste. The largest decrease was among bulky waste, the amount of which almost halved, followed by glass and glass packaging (by 19%) and wood and wooden packaging (by 15%). Almost three quarters of all municipal waste were collected separately. Of these, the largest share was among paper and paper packaging (26%), followed by biodegradable waste (23%) and mixed and composite packaging (15%).

Less waste collected and treated last year

In total, 10.9 million tonnes of waste were collected last year, which is 7% less than the year before. Of this, almost 8.8 million tonnes (or 80%) were construction and demolition waste. There was also a significant decrease in the amount of waste intended for recovery and disposal (by 18%). 2.4 million tonnes of waste were planned for recycling, or almost a quarter less than in the previous year. On the other hand, a quarter more waste was intended for energy recovery. Almost 6.2 million tonnes of waste were intended for backfilling (or 17% less), and 164,000 tonnes for landfilling (or 13% less). Among landfilled waste, municipal waste accounted for almost 42%.

Slightly more municipal waste collected

1.07 million tonnes of municipal waste were collected in 2024 (3% more than a year earlier). The increase was the largest among mixed municipal waste (by 11%) and plastic and plastic packaging (by 9%), while the decrease was the largest, by almost a tenth, among bulky waste. Three quarters of municipal waste was collected separately, which is 2 percentage points fewer than in the previous year. Of this, for the second year in a row, a quarter was paper and paper packaging, followed by biodegradable waste with a 24% share.

Table with the latest data is available in the SiStat Database.