Municipal waste recycled in Germany

Germany: Municipal waste recycled was 35.17 million tonnes in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
35.17 million tonnes
Change on year
down 6.3%
World rank
2nd
of 86 countries
All-time high
37.52 million tonnes
in 2021
All-time low
27.24 million tonnes
in 2001
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Municipal waste recycled in Germany, 2000–2022

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M2000201120222000: 27.7M tonnes2001: 27.2M tonnes2002: 29.6M tonnes2003: 28.7M tonnes2004: 27.3M tonnes2005: 28.4M tonnes2006: 28.8M tonnes2007: 30.3M tonnes2008: 30.8M tonnes2009: 30.6M tonnes2010: 30.8M tonnes2011: 31.6M tonnes2012: 32.5M tonnes2013: 31.6M tonnes2014: 33.5M tonnes2015: 34.5M tonnes2016: 35.0M tonnes2017: 34.8M tonnes2018: 33.7M tonnes2019: 33.7M tonnes2020: 37.5M tonnes2021: 37.5M tonnes2022: 35.2M tonnes

Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.

Analysis

In 2022, municipal waste recycled in Germany stood at 35.17 million tonnes.

The figure is down 6.3% on the previous year and up 8.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Germany peaked at 37.52 million tonnes in 2021 and was at its lowest, 27.24 million tonnes, in 2001.

Germany ranks 2nd of 86 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 28.95 million tonnes 27.24 million tonnes 30.83 million tonnes 10
2010s 33.17 million tonnes 30.77 million tonnes 34.96 million tonnes 10
2020s 36.72 million tonnes 35.17 million tonnes 37.52 million tonnes 3

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 1 United States 62.68 million tonnes compare
  2. 3 Italy 15.28 million tonnes compare
  3. 4 France 15.02 million tonnes compare
  4. 5 South Africa 14.20 million tonnes compare

See the full ranking of 86 places →

More environment data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is municipal waste recycled in Germany?
Municipal waste recycled in Germany was 35.17 million tonnes in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 37.52 million tonnes in 2021.
What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 27.24 million tonnes in 2001.
How does Germany rank for municipal waste recycled?
Germany ranks 2nd out of 86 countries with data for 2022.
Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Municipal waste recycled
Unit
tonnes
Source
United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
86 places, 1,389 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed

Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes)