Since 2004, exports of waste to non-EU countries have increased by +69%, reaching 41.4 million tonnes in 2018. The value of waste exports to non-EU countries amounted to €16.6 billion in 2018.
Imports of waste from non-EU countries remained stable and stood at 13.1 million tonnes in 2018 (compared with 13.2 million tonnes in 2004, or -1%).
Waste imported from non-EU countries was valued at €11.2 billion in 2018.
Türkiye and China are the main destinations for the EU’s waste. EU exports of waste to Türkiye almost tripled since 2004 and reached around 13.0 million tonnes in 2018 (-5% compared with 2017).On the other hand, EU exports to China decreased by more than half, from the 2009 peak of 14.1 million tonnes to 5.2 million tonnes in 2018 (-46% compared with 2017).
The EU’s third main partner for the export of waste is India with 4.7 million tonnes in 2018 (+67% compared with 2017).
Compared with 2017, EU waste exports to Indonesia rose significantly (+97%, to 1.9 million tonnes in 2018). Between 2004 and 2018, significant increases were observed in Pakistan (+670%, or 2.2 million tonnes in 2018 and Egypt (+225%, or 1.7 million tonnes in 2018).
Most waste arrivals into EU from Norway, Switzerland and the United States
The EU also receives waste from non-EU countries. The largest tonnage of waste was imported from Norway (3.0 million tonnes in 2018, up by +5% compared with 2017), Switzerland (2.5 million tonnes in 2018, up by +3% compared with 2017), and the United States (2.1 million tonnes in 2018, down by -16% compared with 2017).
Over longer period of time, the largest increase in waste imports was recorded from Norway: from 1.1 million tonnes in 2004 to 3.0 million tonnes in 2018 (+183%). The waste arriving from Russia decreased significantly: from 4.6 million tonnes in 2004 to 1.2 million tonnes in 2018 (-73%).
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