5% of Europe’s packaging waste is made of metal

Of all the waste produced in the European Union, only 5% corresponds to metal packaging, according to the latest data published by Eurostat, which also shows that 82% of metal packaging is recycled in Spain.

In 2022, a total of 83.4 million tons of packaging waste was produced in the EU, or 186.5 kg per inhabitant. Compared to 2021, this represents a decrease of 3.6 kg per inhabitant, but an increase of 31.7 kg compared to 2012. In other words, each European citizen generates almost 32 kg more packaging waste than just ten years ago.

Of the total packaging waste generated in the EU, 41% was paper and cardboard, 19% plastic, 19% glass, 16% wood and 5% metal. The packaging recycling rate was 65%.

The country with the highest packaging waste recycling rate was Belgium, with 80%, followed by Estonia and the Netherlands, both with 73%.

In contrast, the lowest recycling rates were recorded in Malta (32%), followed by Iceland (42%) and Greece (43%) (however, provisional data for Romania are below 40%).

In Spain the rate is 65.4%, in line with the European average, distributed as follows: 78% for paper and cardboard, 67.7% glass, 82% for metal packaging and 41% for plastic.