Municipal waste recycled in Iceland
Iceland: Municipal waste recycled was 71,000 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Municipal waste recycled in Iceland, 2000–2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 71,000 tonnes for municipal waste recycled in 2023.
That represents a change of up 34.0% on the previous year and up 42.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Iceland peaked at 73,000 tonnes in 2016 and was at its lowest, 20,000 tonnes, in 2000.
Iceland ranks 62nd of 90 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycled in Iceland, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 20,000 tonnes | — |
| 2001 | 21,000 tonnes | +5.0% |
| 2002 | 22,000 tonnes | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 23,000 tonnes | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 40,000 tonnes | +73.9% |
| 2009 | 27,000 tonnes | -32.5% |
| 2010 | 32,000 tonnes | +18.5% |
| 2011 | 40,000 tonnes | +25.0% |
| 2012 | 46,000 tonnes | +15.0% |
| 2013 | 50,000 tonnes | +8.7% |
| 2014 | 52,000 tonnes | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 55,000 tonnes | +5.8% |
| 2016 | 73,000 tonnes | +32.7% |
| 2017 | 58,000 tonnes | -20.5% |
| 2018 | 68,000 tonnes | +17.2% |
| 2020 | 59,000 tonnes | -13.2% |
| 2021 | 65,000 tonnes | +10.2% |
| 2022 | 53,000 tonnes | -18.5% |
| 2023 | 71,000 tonnes | +34.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 71,000 tonnes is below the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 7% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 71,000 tonnes is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.06 million tonnes, 7% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 25,500 tonnes | 20,000 tonnes | 40,000 tonnes | 6 |
| 2010s | 52,667 tonnes | 32,000 tonnes | 73,000 tonnes | 9 |
| 2020s | 62,000 tonnes | 53,000 tonnes | 71,000 tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -1.93 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycled in Iceland?
- Municipal waste recycled in Iceland was 71,000 tonnes in 2023, 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 Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 73,000 tonnes in 2016.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 20,000 tonnes in 2000.
- How does Iceland rank for municipal waste recycled?
- Iceland ranks 62nd out of 90 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland 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.
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CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).