Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat)

E2: Environmental statistics and accounts; sustainable development

e-mail contact: ESTAT-SDG-MONITORING@ec.europa.eu

Indicator is part of the EU Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator set. It is used to monitor progress towards SDG 11 on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable which is embedded in the European Commission’s Priorities under the European Green Deal.

SDG 11 aims to renew and plan cities and other human settlements so that they offer opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation, green public spaces and others, while improving resource use and reducing environmental impacts.

The indicator can be considered as part of the global SDG indicator 11.6.1 "Percentage of urban solid waste regularly collected and with adequate final discharge with regard to the total waste generated by the city".

Sustainable urban development is a horizontal objective of the 8th Environment Action Programme (EAP). The European Green Capital and the European Green Leaf initiatives showcase commitment to resolving urban environmental challenges.

The 2015 circular economy action plan supports the transition to a stronger and more circular economy. The Directive (EU) 2018/851 of 30 May 2018 established new more ambitious legally binding targets for recycling and reuse of municipal waste. EU countries will now be required to recycle at least 55 % of their municipal waste by 2025, 60 % by 2030 and 65 % by 2035. The 2022 Circular Economy package proposal for packaging and packaging waste Directive aims to reduce packaging waste and increase recycling. 

The indicator measures the tonnage recycled from municipal waste divided by the total municipal waste arising. Recycling includes material recycling, composting, preparing for re-use and anaerobic digestion. Municipal waste consists mostly of waste generated by households, but may also include similar wastes generated by small businesses and public institutions and collected by the municipality. This latter part of municipal waste may vary from municipality to municipality and from country to country, depending on the local waste management system. For areas not covered by a municipal waste collection scheme the amount of waste generated is estimated.

The Member States report each year the amount recycled and the total municipal waste generated to Eurostat. Data collection, validation and dissemination are performed by the EDC Waste hosted at Eurostat.

% of total waste generated

Calendar year.

The indicator is produced according to the quality standards of European Statistics. Details on accuracy can be found in the metadata of the source datasets (see link to related metadata).

ESS Waste Statistics

Data source: Waste Statistics of the European Statistical System (ESS) (ENV_WASMUN)
Data provider: Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, based on data reported by National Statistical Institutes or other competent authorities like Ministries of Environment or Environmental Protection Agencies (data collected from various sources according to national waste management practices).

Every year

The indicator is updated annually. Complete and updated ESS data release information can be accessed via Eurostat release calendar.

T+2 years

New data points are disseminated within two years after the reference year.

All EU MS

Data are presented for all EU Member States plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzogovina and Kosovo^(*).

_{(*)   This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.}

> 75% EU MS

Data are comparable between EU Member States respectively other presented countries.  Data comparability is limited due to breaks in time series.

> 10 years

Presented time series (including EU aggregates) starts in 2000.

> 4 data points

Length of comparable time series without methodological break is longer than 4 data points.

Analysis of indicator is presented in Eurostat's annual monitoring report on Sustainable development in the EU (progress towards SDGs in the EU context).

see table  sdg_11_60

Eurostat dedicated section on SDGs: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/sdi/overview

Copyrights: Eurostat Copyright/Licence Policy is applicable.