In 2020, Luxembourg generated 790kg of municipal waste per person. This compares to an already-high 607kg in 2017, meaning that waste per-capita increased a stunning 183kg in just three years.
Municipal waste is mainly a measure of household waste, but also includes waste generated by shops, offices, and public institutions.
Read also: Five tips for a low-waste lifestyle
Only Denmark created more waste than Luxembourg, at a chart-topping 845kg per person.
At the other end of the table, eastern member states Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Romania all generated under 400kg per person. Of these four, only one (Hungary) generated less waste than when measures began in 1995.
The other countries that have seen some success in waste reduction are Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Despite the soaring mountain of waste, recycling efforts remained stable in 2020, at an EU average of 151kg per person. In 2020, Luxembourg set a target for 65% of all household waste to be recycled by 2030.
Yet Luxembourg still has some way to go to meet that target. One eyebrow-raising statistic is that back in 2018, Luxembourgers threw away an estimated €100,000 in cash.
