Recycling rates in the European Union
The recycling rate of municipal waste in the EU has increased steadily over the past two decades, rising from below 30 percent in 2000. Recycling rates vary widely depending on the waste material. For example, the overall recycling rate of packaging in the EU stood at 64 percent in 2020. Paper and paperboard was the most recycled packaging type, at a rate of around 82 percent. In contrast, the recycling rate of plastic and wood packaging was below 40 percent.Much like waste materials, recycling rates vary by country. As of 2021, Germany had the highest recycling rate in the EU, at 71 percent. At the time, seven EU Member States had a recycling rate of more than 50 percent. Although recycling rates within the bloc have increased considerably over the past decade, three countries still had recycling rates below the 20 percent mark. Nevertheless, European countries currently have some of the best recycling rates worldwide.
EU recycling targets and the circular economy
Under the European Commission's Waste Framework Directive, a series of waste reduction targets have been set for the coming decade, with EU Member States legally bound to recycle at least 55 percent of municipal waste by 2025, rising to 65 percent by 2035. To continue improving recycling, many European countries are set to implement Deposit Refund Schemes (DRS) in the coming years. As of March 2022, DRS systems were only active in 11 European countries, but those that do have them have noticeably higher polyethylene terephthalate (PET) collection rates than those without.By 2030, the amount of residual waste produced in the EU needs to be cut by roughly half to reach the target of 56.5 million metric tons. However, without a reduction in waste generation, it is unlikely this target will be achieved, even if the EU reaches a recycling rate of 60 percent. This shows that while certainly beneficial, recycling alone is not enough to tackle the sheer amount of waste produced in Europe. Therefore, the EU has set the goal of achieving a circular economy by 2050. The circular material use rate in the EU has been rising steadily over the past decade, reaching an estimated 11.7 percent in 2021, meaning that share of material resources used in the EU came from recycled materials.
