In 2012 69.2% of all plastic packaging waste was recovered, 30.8% went to landfills and incineration. Packaging makes up 62% of all plastic waste in Europe; 82% of all plastics are recycled. The plastic packaging recycling rate increased from 33.6% in 2011 to 34.7% in 2012. Each country in Europe has a recycling and energy recovery target based on the EU directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste (94/62/EU).
With the exception of Malta, all of the European countries exceeded the EU minimum’s recycling target in 2012. 19 of the 27 countries recycled more than 30%, the minimum target was 22.5%. The Netherlands had the highest recycling rate at 50.6%, followed by the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden and Estonia.
As for energy recovery, nine countries recovered more than 50% of their plastic packaging waste resulting in a total recovery rate of above 90%. This means that less than 10% of plastic packaging was landfilled. On the flip side seven countries sent more than 50% of their plastic packaging to the landfill, among them was England at 63%.
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Source: Packaging Europe
