EU countries by municipal waste generated per person

Austria had the highest municipal waste generated per person of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 835 kg per person. Romania had the lowest, at 302 kg per person. The median was 511 kg per person and the figure for the European Union (27) was 534 kg per person. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest835Austria

Lowest302Romania

Median51127 EU countries

European Union (27)534History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Under 460
460 to 500
500 to 540
540 to 630
630 and over

kg per person, 2021. Source: Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2021

kg per person. Source: Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2021 kg per person	Change on 2020
1	Austria	835	+0.1%
2	Denmark	800	-1.7%
3	Luxembourg	793	+0.4%
4	Belgium	755	+3.6%
5	Germany	648	+1.1%
6	Cyprus	635	+3.4%
7	Finland	630	+3.4%
8	Ireland	619	-2.8%
9	Malta	611	-4.8%
10	Czechia	570	+5%
11	France Estimated	564	+5.6%
12	Netherlands Provisional	513	-3.8%
13	Greece	512	+1.6%
14	Slovenia	511	+4.9%
15	Portugal	510	+0.2%
16	Slovakia	497	+4%
17	Italy	495	+1.6%
18	Spain	482	+4.1%
19	Lithuania	479	-0.2%
20	Bulgaria	470	+8.8%
21	Latvia	461	-3.6%
22	Croatia	456	+5.3%
23	Hungary	420	+3.4%
24	Sweden	418	-3%
25	Estonia	395	+3.1%
26	Poland	370	+5.7%
27	Romania	302	+3.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Municipal waste generated in the year, in kilograms per inhabitant: household waste and similar waste from shops, offices and public institutions, collected by or for municipalities.

Countries differ in how much commercial waste they count as municipal, which explains part of the gap between them.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun) (EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table

MLA 9

Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun), EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Mar. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2021.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun), EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_municipal_2021,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env\_wasmun): EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env\_wasmun). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env\_wasmun/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun): EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/30
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank EU countries by municipal waste generated per person using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest municipal waste generated per person?

Austria, with 835 kg per person in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest municipal waste generated per person?

Romania, with 302 kg per person in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). Retrieved 2026-10-12.