While the total amount of treated waste increased only slightly since 2004 (+5%), the quantity of waste recovered increased by 40.6% (from 870 million tonnes to 1 223 million tonnes). Recovery includes recycling, backfilling and incineration with energy recovery. The quantity of waste subject to disposal decreased from 1 027 million tonnes in 2004 to 769 million tonnes in 2022, down by 25.1%.
Overall, 61.4% of EU waste was treated in the recovery operation: recycling (40.8% of the total treated waste), backfilling (14.2%) or energy recovery (6.4%). The remaining 38.6% was either landfilled (30.2%), incinerated without energy recovery (0.4%) or disposed of otherwise (8.0%).
Considerable differences were observed among EU countries in their use of waste treatment methods. Italy recorded the highest share of recycling at 85.6%, followed by Belgium and Slovakia, both at 68.3%. In contrast, landfill and other disposal methods dominated in Romania (93.8%), Bulgaria (93.0%), and Finland (81.0%).
