Waste and circular economy

The world produces more than it can consume. The ever-increasing amount of waste is causing problems everywhere. Also items that can be reused or recycled reach landfills. Landfilling of hazardous waste affects the quality of soil, drinking water and air. To save natural resources and the environment, more attention should be paid to the correct sorting, reduction and reuse of waste and various materials.

Waste statistics tell us

  • how much garbage is generated in Estonia every year;
  • how much waste is stored in landfills;
  • how much waste is reused;
  • how much waste is used for energy production;
  • how much municipal waste is generated per capita.

Waste statistics are needed for the organisation of waste management and development in Estonia. An overview of waste use helps to increase environmental awareness.

Waste generation 17.33 million tonnes
-24.2%
2023
Generation of hazardous waste 1.52 million tonnes
-3.2%
2023
Landfilling of waste 5.98 million tonnes
-19.2%
2023
Waste incineration with energy recovery 313.3 thousand tonnes
2023
Waste recovery 9.97 million tonnes
-33.2%
2023
Generation of municipal waste 512 thousand tonnes
1.8%
2023
Generation of municipal waste per capita 373.0 kg
0.0%
2023
Recycling of municipal waste 32.9 %
2022
Recovery rate of hazardous waste 38.8 thousand tonnes
2020
Waste generation | 2015–2023
Generation of municipal waste per capita | 2014–2023
Landfill of waste | 2014–2023
Waste management | 2014 – 2023
Unit: thousand tonnes
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
2.4 Recycling of waste, thousand tons 8,059 9,390 7,834 9,606 9,547 9,688 10,528 13,404 14,925 9,966

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