Around 41 percent of all plastic packaging waste was recycled in the EU in 2019. As in 2017, Austria is below the EU average and, with a recycling rate of 31 percent, is one of the countries where this is less than a third. Nine EU member states recycled over 50 percent of the plastic packaging waste generated, with Lithuania in first place with 70 percent, reported the European statistical agency Eurostat today.
At the lower end of the field of 27 EU countries – excluding Great Britain – are Malta (eleven percent, data from 2018), France (27), Ireland (28), deliveries from Austria (31) in 24th place and Poland ( 32). At the top of the list are Lithuania (61 percent), Bulgaria (59), data from 2018), the Netherlands (57) and Sweden and Slovakia (both 53).
34 kilograms of packaging waste per year
Converted to all people living in the EU, this generated 34.4 kilograms of plastic packaging waste in 2019 – 14.1 kilograms of it was recycled. That means an increase of 24 percent or 6.7 kilograms since 2009.
However, the amount of recycling increased by 50 percent (4.7 kilograms) during this period. As a result, the amount of non-recycled plastic packaging has increased by two kilograms per inhabitant since 2009. Across the EU, the recycling rate is slightly compared to 2017, at that time it was 42 percent, in Austria it was 33 percent.