Environment at a Glance Indicators

Circular economy - materials and waste

Context

Material resources form the physical foundation of the economy. Their characteristics, availability and value vary across countries. Economic growth and rising living standards generally increase demand for raw materials, energy and other natural resources.

The extraction, processing, use and disposal of materials generate environmental, economic and social impacts through their life cycle, both within and beyond national borders. The extent of these impacts depends on the type and quantity of resources and materials used, where they are sourced and how efficiently they are transformed and consumed, and how products and waste are managed at end of life. Key concerns include availability and price of material resources, pollution, risks to human health and damage to ecosystems and biodiversity.

Improving the way materials are produced and used is therefore central to reducing environmental pressures while supporting economic resilience and long-term prosperity.

Policy challenges

The main challenge is to improve material efficiency and productivity and reduce environmental pressures at all stages of materials lifecycle, from extraction, transport, manufacturing, consumption, recovery and final disposal. This requires moving beyond traditional waste management approaches towards more integrated policies for materials, chemicals and products. Key priorities include:

• Integrating policies on products, chemicals and waste, using a life-cycle approach. Examples include implementing 3R policies (reduce, reuse, recycle), sustainable materials management, sustainable manufacturing and circular economy strategies;

• Preventing waste and reducing demand for virgin materials through eco-design, reuse, repair, refurbishment and re-manufacturing (see The waste hierarchy);

• Strengthening recycling and the use of secondary raw materials, including through extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes.

Transitioning to more resource-efficient and circular economy can help reduce environmental impacts, strengthen material supply security and supporting long-term economic competitiveness.

A more circular economy aims to retain the value of materials and products for as long as possible, minimise the use of virgin and hazardous materials, prevent waste generation and reduce the hazardous content of products and waste.

The waste hierarchy

Source: OECD based on various other sources.

Measuring progress and performance

Progress towards a resource-efficient and circular economy can be assessed against domestic objectives and international goals and commitments.

International agreements and regulations also support progress towards more sustainable waste and materials management. These include OECD Decisions and Recommendations, European Union legislation and the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous waste and their disposal, including its amendments in 2019 for plastic waste and in 2022 for electrical and electronic wastes. Some non-European countries such as Japan, Korean and Chile also have adopted dedicated circular economy legislation or framework laws that go beyond traditional waste management policies. Resource efficiency, material productivity and life-cycle approaches have also featured in G7 and G20 strategies and action plans.

Indicator groups

• Waste management: total waste generation and intensities; municipal waste generation, intensities, recovery, recycling and disposal shares; electrical and electronic equipment put on the market, intensities of electrical and electronic waste generated and collected, plastic and ferrous-metal waste generated.

• Use of material resources: domestic material consumption mix and intensities, material productivity and material footprint intensities.

• Taxes relevant for circular economy: revenue raised and tax base structure.

The indicators presented here reflect internationally available and harmonised data. They need to be complemented with other indicators on the use of secondary raw materials, reuse rates, generation of other waste streams (e.g. end-of-life tires and construction and demolition (C&D) waste, and indicators on non-fiscal economic instruments (i.e. tipping fees, EPR and incentive policies).

Waste management

Key messages

• Waste generation remains high across the OECD and in most countries continues to rise with population and economic activity. Nevertheless, about a third of OECD countries have relatively decoupled total waste generation from both population and economic growth.

• Municipal waste generation remains substantial, at about 518 kg per person on average in 2024. Levels vary widely across countries, reflecting differences in consumption patterns, income, urbanisation and waste-management practices. On average, Europeans produce less municipal waste than people living in the Americas, but more than those in the OECD Asia-Oceania region.

• Waste treatment has shifted away from landfill towards recycling, composting and energy recovery, but landfilling still accounts for around 40% of municipal waste treatment across the OECD and remains the dominant treatment method in several countries.

• Electrical and electronic equipment, which contains high levels of critical raw materials, is one of the fastest-growing waste streams. The amount of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market has risen rapidly, while only a fraction of the resulting e-waste is formally collected and recycled.

• Plastic and ferrous waste have increased considerably in most OECD countries over the past 10 years, while internationally comparable information on their treatment remains limited.

Main trends and recent developments

Across most OECD countries, total waste generation continues to increase, in line with population and economic growth. Nevertheless, few countries, such as Luxembourg, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Spain have achieved relative decoupling of their total waste generation from economic growth. Some of them, such as Greece, Luxembourg and Spain also relatively decoupled their total waste generation from population growth. The amounts of waste produced, their composition and their origin vary among countries due to economic structures and levels of investment in innovation and environmental technologies. For example, Estonia's high waste intensity reflects the significant contribution of waste generated by the country's oil shale sector.

In 2024, municipal solid waste generated in OECD countries exceeded 725 million tonnes. Since the 1990s, municipal solid waste generated in OECD countries has risen mostly in line with private consumption expenditure and GDP. This growth slowed between 2007 and 2015 but accelerated again in the following years. Since 2021, however, waste generation has declined, reflecting decreased private final consumption in numerous OECD economies. This decrease has been particularly notable in France, Japan and the United Kingdom.

A person living in an OECD country generated on average 518 kg of municipal waste in 2024; this is 24 kg more than in 1990 and 13 kg more than in 2015. On average, Europeans generate less waste than people living in the Americas, but more than those living in the OECD Asia-Oceania region. It is estimated that, about 2.1 billion tonnes of municipal waste were generated in 2023 worldwide (about 270 kg per person) and that without further action this number will grow to 3.8 billion by 2050 (UNEP, 2024).

Municipal waste generation varies widely across OECD countries; this is due to factors like levels and patterns of consumption, urbanisation, income, lifestyles, and national waste management practices. More waste is being diverted from landfills and incinerators, and fed back into the economy through recovery and recycling. Mechanical and biological pre-treatment is increasingly used to facilitate recovery, enhance incineration efficiency and reduce landfill use. Manufacturers and importers are increasingly encouraged or required to accept responsibility for their products after the point of sale, through “extended producer responsibility” or “product stewardship”. The European Union, Japan and other countries have introduced recycling targets and monitor progress through indicators.

The share of municipal solid waste landfilled in OECD countries has decreased from about 53% in 2010 to 39% in 2024. In several countries, including Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, landfilling has been virtually phased out and largely replaced by waste incineration with energy recovery. Yet landfilling remains the main waste disposal method, particularly in the OECD America region.

Recycling, composting and energy recovery through incineration have all increased since 2000 in most OECD countries. Several countries now recycle more than one third of the municipal waste they manage (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Korea, Norway and Slovenia). In some countries, such as Mexico, a significant share of recycling activities is still carried out by informal waste pickers operating outside formal waste management systems.

Waste from electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), or e-waste, which contains high levels of critical raw materials, is one of the fastest growing waste streams and poses both health and environment challenges. The amounts of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market (PoM) has grown over the past decade, but only a fraction of the resulting e-waste is collected. For example, while 32 kg per person of electrical and electronic equipment were put on the market in 2023 in the European Union, only 11.6 kg per person of e-waste were collected. Rates of recycling for individual countries vary between 60% and nearly 100% of the e-waste collected per person. It is estimated that worldwide only 22% of e-waste generated was formally collected and recycled. Moreover, since 2010 e-waste generation has risen exponentially, growing five times faster than documented e-waste recycling (ITU, 2024). Large equipment, which includes bulky items like refrigerators and washing machines, is the largest category, accounting for over 65% of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market in countries like Estonia, the Netherlands and Spain, while small equipment represents over 40% of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market in Colombia and Switzerland.

Plastic and ferrous waste generated per person has increased considerably in most OECD countries since 2010. Amounts generated per person vary from 9kg per person in Chile to 557kg in Belgium for ferrous waste and from 3kg per person in Chile to 110kg in Australia for plastic waste. Little information is available on the management of these waste streams. In Europe, the recycling rate for plastic waste reached approximately 41% in 2021. Despite this progress, a significant portion of plastic waste continues to be landfilled or incinerated, contributing to environmental degradation. It is estimated that in 2019 alone, around 22 million tonnes of plastic leaked into soils, rivers, and oceans. Plastic leakage is projected to double by 2060 (EP, 2024).

Indicators

Comparability and interpretation

Waste is generated at all stages of human activities. Its composition and amounts depend largely on consumption and production patterns. Data on waste are available for most OECD countries, but their quality varies significantly across countries. The scope of sectors covered as well as estimation methods can vary significantly across countries, limiting comparability between them. For example, Türkiye data excludes construction and agriculture sector waste.

Municipal solid waste comprises only a small share of total waste generated (about 10%), but its management and treatment often represent more than one-third of public sector financial efforts to abate and control pollution.

The definition of municipal waste, the types of waste covered, and the surveying methods used to collect information vary from country to country and over time. The main problems in terms of data comparability relate to the coverage of household-like waste from commerce and trade, and of separate waste collections that may include hazardous waste from households such as waste batteries or waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) and waste collected by the private sector in the framework of extended producer responsibility schemes.

Electronic waste, or e-waste, refers to all items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been disposed of. E-waste is also referred to as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), electronic waste or e-scrap in different regions and under varying circumstances in the world. E-waste includes a wide range of products - almost any household or business item with circuitry or electrical components with power or battery supply. The methodology for estimating WEEE generation has evolved to include more products, which can partly explain the rapid increase in this waste stream.

For further details see the metadata in the source databases.

Use of material resources

Key messages

• Material productivity has improved across OECD countries, with decoupling from GDP growth since 2000 for the OECD as a whole, while per person domestic consumption of materials has declined or stabilised in many countries in recent years. Nevertheless, material uses per person remains high compared with other world regions.

• Progress appears more limited when indirect flows of materials needed to satisfy final demand are considered. Material footprint per person, including materials extracted abroad and embodied in international trade, has grown in many OECD countries over the longer term, although it has stabilised in recent years.

Main trends and recent developments

The amounts of materials consumed in OECD countries, in terms of domestic material consumption (DMC), and their per person levels increased along with economic growth in the 1990s, decreased after the 2008-09 economic crisis and remained relatively stable since. However, DMC grew less than GDP, resulting in decoupling since 2000 for the OECD as a whole. Material consumption in OECD countries is about 24.5 Gt per year; more than half of this amount is consumed in the OECD America region. The material mix is dominated by non-metallic minerals, mostly for construction, followed by biomass and fossil energy carriers; metals represent less than 15% of the total in the OECD area.

DMC per person decreased in slightly more than half of OECD countries since 2000. In some countries, such as the Baltic countries, per person material consumption increased driven by economic growth and infrastructure development associated with a declining population. Overall, the levels of material consumption per person remain higher in OECD countries (about 17.5 tonnes per person per year) compared to other world regions. However, in the coming decades growing populations with higher incomes and living standards will drive a strong increase in global demand for goods and services. Material consumption per person in emerging and developing economies is thus expected to grow faster than in the OECD region.

Since 2000, almost all OECD countries have experienced improvements in material productivity (expressed as the amount of economic value generated per unit of materials used). OECD countries generated USD 3 per kg of materials consumed in 2024, compared to USD 2 per kg in 2000 (USD in 2020 constant PPP). This reflects efficiency gains in production processes, changes in the materials composition and substitution of domestic production with imports. Notably, DMC fell after the 2008 financial crisis and has remained relatively stable since, despite resumed economic growth.

However, when accounting for all materials needed to satisfy final demand in OECD countries, i.e. including materials extracted abroad and embodied in imported goods (i.e. a demand-based measure), gains are more modest. The per person material footprint, is generally higher than DMC per person. Countries with high import rates and high-income levels show higher material footprints.

Indicators

Comparability and interpretation

The indicators presented are estimates. Their interpretation should take into account the properties and composition of material groups (materials are measured in weight), as well as countries’ endowments in natural resources and the structure of their economy. It should also consider commodity prices, waste management practices and consumption levels and patterns.

The data presented here refer to the mass of materials or substances produced from renewable and non-renewable natural resource stocks, used as inputs into human activities, and the products that embody them. Data coverage and completeness vary by variable and by country. In general, caution needs to be exercised when drawing conclusions based on country-level data. Although considerable progress has been made in the past decade to set up material flow accounts, missing information, including on physical flows of international trade and on secondary (recycled) raw materials, and a lack of consensus on conversion factors limit the calculation of some material flow indicators at the international level.

For further details see the metadata in the source databases and the UNEP Global Manual on Economy Wide Material Flow Accounting.

Taxes relevant for the circular economy

Key messages

• Taxes relevant to circular economy objectives raise relatively limited revenue across OECD countries. In 2024, they generated USD 165 billion across OECD countries, representing 0.9% of total tax revenue, compared to 1.0% in the early 2000s.

• Most of the circular economy-related tax revenue came from transport taxes, while pollution- and resource-related tax bases account for much smaller shares.

Main trends and recent developments

In OECD countries, circular economy-related taxes raised USD 165 billion in 2024, representing 0.9% of total tax revenue, compared to 1.0% in the early 2000s. As a share of total environmentally related tax revenue, circular economy-related taxes make up 20.9%, with transport taxes accounting for the largest share (20.1%), while pollution taxes contributed only 0.9%, resource taxes 0.1%, and energy taxes remained absent as a revenue source.

Indicators

Comparability and interpretation

To assess the “environmental friendliness” of tax systems, indicators on environmentally related taxes should be complemented with information describing the economic and taxation structure of each country. Moreover, some environmentally related taxes can have important environmental impacts even if they raise little (or no) revenue. In addition, revenue from fees and charges, and from royalties related to resource management, is not included.

Comparisons of environmentally related tax revenues (ERTRs) in OECD countries provide a useful starting point for analysing the impact of environmental taxation, however, comparing only the level of revenue does not provide the full picture of a country’s environmental policy, as it does not provide information on the levels of tax rates, or the exemptions applied. Other parts of the OECD PINE database, including information on tax rates and exemptions, allows deeper assessment of the environmental impacts of these taxes. In addition, governments may choose to implement environmental policy using a range of other instruments, including fees and charges, expenditures (both direct and subsidies) and regulation, some of which are also detailed in the PINE database. The database also includes for information on the use of alternative instruments in countries.

For further details see the metadata in the source databases.

Glossary

Circular economy-related tax revenue refers to revenue from market-based instruments, such as taxes and tradable permits, which aims to maximise resource efficiency while reducing waste generation and environmental pollution of the production and consumption of material goods. Examples include landfill levies, taxes on tyres, taxes on plastics materials and packaging, taxes on the ownership of motor vehicles (e.g. through disincentivising the consumption of new resource-intensive products) and trading schemes for landfill allowances.

The information on taxes and the associated tax revenue is extracted from the OECD Policy Instruments for the Environment (PINE) database, which contains quantitative and qualitative information on over 4 800 policy instruments in more than 150 countries. Policy instruments are tagged into 22 environmental domains following the PINE environmental domain tagging methodology (Chhun, B., et al., 2024). Each instrument is tagged in every domain it directly targets; indirect or incidental effects are not considered. An instrument may therefore be tagged in more than one domain, for example both Circular economy and Solid waste. For additional examples and details see Chhun, B., et al. (2024).

Domestic material consumption (DMC): Refers to the amount of materials directly used in an economy. DMC is computed as domestic extraction used (DEU) minus exports plus imports. DEU refers to the raw materials extracted or harvested from the environment that physically enter the economic system for further processing or direct consumption.

Domestic material consumption mix: DMC of non-metallic minerals includes domestic extraction and trade of minerals used in industry and construction, plus trade of derived processed products; biomass includes domestic production from agriculture, forestry and fisheries, plus trade of raw and processed products from these sectors; fossil fuels include coal, crude oil, natural gas, peat and traded-derived products; and metals include domestic extraction of metal ores, plus trade of metal ores, metal concentrates, refined metals, products mainly made of metals, and scrap.

Electrical and electronic waste: or e-waste, refers to all items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been disposed of. E-waste is also referred to as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), electronic waste or e-scrap in different regions and under different circumstances in the world. It includes a wide range of products - almost any household or business item with circuitry or electrical components with power or battery supply. The definition of e-waste is very broad and covers six waste categories: (1) Temperature exchange equipment; (2) Screen, monitors; (3) Lamps; (4) Large equipment; (5) Small equipment; (6) Small IT and telecommunication equipment.

Ferrous metallic waste: for countries reporting to Eurostat, refers to ferrous metal waste (Eurostat code W061) generated by all economic activities and households. Also includes iron and steel from construction and demolition (List of Waste code 17 04 05), ferrous scrap from metal processing (12 01 01, 12 01 02), ferrous metal from dismantling end-of-life vehicles (16 01 17) and ferrous fractions separated during waste treatment (19 01 02, 19 10 01, 19 12 02). Mixed metals (17 04 07) separately collected municipal metals (20 01 40) and metallic packaging (15 01 04) belong to category W063 (mixed ferrous and non-ferrous metallic wastes) and are not included.

Material footprint per person: Expressed in tonnes per person; the material footprint is the global allocation of used raw material extracted to meet the final demand of an economy, thus including raw materials used in the production of imported products.

Material productivity: Expressed in USD/kg; material productivity is the effectiveness with which an economy uses materials extracted from natural resources (physical inputs) to generate economic value (monetary outputs).

Municipal waste: Waste collected by or on behalf of municipalities. It includes household waste originating from households (i.e. waste generated by the domestic activity of households) and similar waste from small commercial activities, office buildings, institutions such as schools and government buildings, and small businesses that treat or dispose of waste at the same facilities used for municipally collected waste.

Municipal waste recovery rates: share of waste that is recuperated via recycling, composting or incineration with energy recuperation.

Municipal waste disposal rates: share of waste that is sent to final disposal (landfill or incineration without energy recovery).

Total waste generated: Primary waste (i.e. excluding residues from treatment operations) produced by the various sectors of economic activity (agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing industry, energy production, water purification and distribution, construction, etc.).

Data sources

Eurostat, “Material flow accounts”, Eurostat Material flows and resource productivity (database), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/view/env_ac_mfa?category=env.env_mrp.

Eurostat, “Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) by waste management operations”, Eurostat Waste (database), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/env_waselee?lang=en.

OECD, "Environmental policy: Environmentally related tax revenue", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/df563d69-en

OECD, “Material flow accounts”, OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00695-en.

OECD, “Policy Instruments for the Environment (PINE)” (database), https://oe.cd/pine.

OECD, "Waste - Municipal waste: generation and treatment", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00601-en.

OECD, "Waste - Waste by sector: generation, recovery and recycling", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00674-en.

OECD, "Waste - Electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste or WEEE)", OECD Environment Statistics (e-waste database).

OECD, "Waste: Selected waste streams: generation, recovery and recycling", OECD Environment Statistics (waste streams database).

References and further reading

Chhun, B., et al. (2024), "Environmental domain tagging in the OECD PINE database", OECD Environment Working Papers, No. 232, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/be984b0a-en.

ITU, UNU, UNITAR, ISWA (2024). The Global E-waste Monitor – 2024, United Nations University (UNU), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) & International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/Vienna, https://ewastemonitor.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GEM_2024_18-03_web_page_per_page_web.pdf.

European Parliament (2024), Plastic waste and recycling in the EU: facts and figures https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20181212STO21610/plastic-waste-and-recycling-in-the-eu-facts-and-figures.

OECD (2024), Monitoring Progress towards a Resource-Efficient and Circular Economy, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3b644b83-en.

OECD, (2019) Global Material Resources Outlook to 2060: Economic Drivers and Environmental Consequences, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264307452-en.

UNEP (2024), Global Waste Management Outlook 2024, https://www.unep.org/resources/global-waste-management-outlook-2024.

UNEP (2024), Global Resource Outlook 2024, https://www.unep.org/resources/Global-Resource-Outlook-2024.