Per capita municipal waste generated in Europe 2022, by country

Denmark generated the largest amount of municipal waste per capita in Europe in 2022, at 787 kilograms per inhabitant. Nordic neighbor Norway ranked second, with 768 kilograms per capita. Nevertheless, based on data from the previous year, the average Austrian had the highest municipal waste generation in Europe, at over 800 kilograms per capita.

How does Europe compare to the rest of the world?

High-income European countries such as Norway, Denmark, and Austria have some of the highest municipal waste generation rates worldwide. Nevertheless, the average municipal waste generation in European OECD countries was just below the OECD average, estimated at 531 kilograms per capita in 2022. That year, Europeans generated on average 100 kilograms less municipal waste than the average American. 

Trends in municipal waste in the EU

In 2022, the EU’s average municipal waste generation stood at 513 kilograms per capita, a year-over-year decline of 3.6 percent. This was the first annual decline registered in eight years. While municipal waste generation grew by 7.3 percent between 2014 and 2022, municipal waste recycling per capita in the EU increased by roughly 14 percent in the same period, to some 153 kilograms.