Municipal waste generation per capita by country

In 2020, per capita municipal waste generation in Denmark was estimated at 850.6 kilograms. This made the Nordic country one of the biggest per capita municipal waste producers worldwide. Most recently in 2018, municipal waste generation in the United States averaged 811 kilograms per capita.

Per capita generation of municipal waste worldwide as of 2020, by select country (in kilograms)

Characteristic	Generation of waste in kilograms per capita
Denmark (2020)	850.6
United States (2018)	810.9
Luxembourg (2020)	795.2
New Zealand (2018)	781.1
Iceland (2018)	735.1
Norway (2020)	720.3
Switzerland (2020)	704.4
Israel (2020)	691.2
Ireland (2019)	632
Germany (2020)	627.4
Finland (2020)	594.9
Austria (2019)	582.9
Netherlands (2020)	544
France (2020)	536.1
Greece (2019)	535.9
Portugal (2020)	517.7
Czechia (2020)	506
Spain (2020)	460.5
United Kingdom (2020)	456.7
Canada (2018)	423.6
Turkey (2019)	419.7
South Korea (2019)	413
Japan (2019)	336.9
Australia (2019)	498.8

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Release date

February 2020

More information

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

2018 to 2020

Special properties

Figures are for 2020 or the latest year that data are available

Supplementary notes

Figures were rounded.

Municipal waste is defined as waste collected and treated by or for municipalities. It covers waste from households, including bulky waste, similar waste from commerce and trade, office buildings, institutions and small businesses, as well as yard and garden waste, street sweepings, the contents of litter containers, and market cleansing waste if managed as household waste. The definition excludes waste from municipal sewage networks and treatment, as well as waste from construction and demolition activities.

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