Key Facts about: Waste and Recycling
Estimated total annual waste generation in the EU
European Union 15
It is estimated that around 2 billion tonnes of waste is generated in EU-15 every year. The data available by sector are subject to uncertainties but Eurostat has estimated that almost a third of the total waste comes from agriculture and forestry and broadly the same amount from construction and demolition. A similar amount is added by the mining and quarrying and the manufacturing sectors.
The total waste produced in the UK is estimated to be around 335 million tonnes each year. About 220 million tonnes of this is controlled waste (household, industrial and commercial, construction and demolition wastes).
In Detail:
Further Information:
- Source:
- Eurostat
- Key Facts:
- Total annual waste
- Household waste and recycling
- Material recycling
- Municipal waste management
- Regional recycling and recovery
- Sustainable Development Indicators:
- Framework Indicator: Waste
Data Tables:
Download Chart Data: Microsoft Excel
- References, further reading and links to other resources:
- Eurostat Themes and data
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Page last modified: 3 October 2006
Page published: 29 October 2004