EU packaging waste in 2023. - Decrease in weight and increase in recycling, but still a long way from the 2030 target
The latest Eurostat figures show that in 2023, a total of 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste was generated in all EU Member States, of which 67.5% was recycled. Thus, the recycling rate increased to the level recorded before the pandemic, while the mass of waste generated continued its downward trend. Let us look at the detailed data on packaging waste in Poland and the EU.
European Union: 67.5% recycling of packaging waste in 2023.
Of the 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste generated across the EU, 53.8 million tonnes or 67.5% were sent for recycling. Significantly, only 4.67 million tonnes of waste were recycled outside the EU - despite the crisis in the plastics recycling industry, as much as 49.13 million tonnes passed through installations on the Old Continent. Furthermore, as much as 40.96 million tonnes of packaging waste was recycled directly in the country of generation, with the remaining 8.13 million tonnes going for recycling in other Member States.
Highest recycling rates overall packaging waste occurred in Belgium (79.7%), the Netherlands (75.8%), Italy (75.6%) and the Czech Republic (74.8%). Overall 7 EU Member States to achieve recycling rates above 70% in 2023, meeting the minimum criterion for 2030. On the opposite side were the countries with the lowest recycling rates in the whole community: Romania (37.3% in 2022), Hungary (42.8%), Malta (44.4%) and Greece (48.0%).
Poland on track to meet 70% packaging recycling target in 2030.
According to the latest Eurostat data, in terms of recycling packaging waste, Poland performs surprisingly well. In 2023, there will be approximately 184 kg of packaging waste per statistical Pole, of which 116 kg will be recycled. Thus, the recycling level of total packaging waste for 2023 was 67.4%, which ranks Poland 12th in the EU. Furthermore, for the period 2018-2023 our country increased the recycling rate of packaging waste from 58.7% to 67.4%.
Paper the packaging industry favourite, plastic below 20% by weight
Paper and cardboard packaging accounted for 40.4% of the mass of packaging waste generated in the EU throughout 2023. They dominated in 26 of the 27 community countries, reaching a share ranging from 29.4% in Romania to 49.1% in the Netherlands. The exception to the EU trend appeared to be Bulgaria, where plastic packaging was much more popular (28.4% compared to 25.5% for paper and board).
The material distribution of packaging waste generated in the EU in 2023 was as follows:
- 40.4% paper and board (32.3 million tonnes),
- 19.8% plastics (15.8 million tonnes),
- 18.8% glass (15 million tonnes),
- 15.8% timber (12.6 million tonnes),
- 4.9% metals (3.9 million tonnes),
- 0.2% other materials (0.2 million tonnes).
The highest share of wood packaging waste was recorded in Finland (27.8%). Glass, on the other hand, proved to be the domain of Croatia (26.8%) and metals in Greece (9.2%).
Plastic packaging recycling still under pressure
Eurostat has also summarised the recycling rates for plastic packaging. Recall, That the 2030 target is to treat 55% by weight of collected plastic waste. Meanwhile The EU average for 2023 was 42.1%, and the worst performing countries were Hungary (23.0%), France (25.7%), Austria (26.9%) and Denmark (27.8%). In addition to these, exceptionally low (<30%) recycling rates for plastic packaging were also recorded in Croatia, Sweden, Finland and Ireland. In contrast, the 55% recycling target was exceeded by 2 countries: Belgium (59.5%) and Latvia (59.2%).
The data presented by Eurostat is particularly relevant in the context of the new obligations under the PPWR, which will revolutionise the EU packaging market. It not only maintains the recycling targets for plastics at the levels established in Directive 94/62/EC, but also introduces a number of additional requirements, including minimum levels of recyclate content and new design criteria for recycling (design for recycling). In practice, this means that countries that are already below EU targets could face a shortage of the recyclate needed to produce PPWR-compliant packaging. You can read more about future risks and strategies in the face of the recyclate crisis in the report: CIRCULAR PACKAGING 2030: Strategies for action in an era of shortage of recyclate
Sources:
- Eurostat, Statistics on packaging waste, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Packaging_waste_statistics
- Eurostat, Plastic packaging waste in the EU: 35.3 kg per person, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20251022-1