Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Japan

Japan: Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation was 326 Kilogrammes per person in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
326 Kilogrammes per person
Change on year
down 1.2%
World rank
29th
of 34 countries
All-time high
407 Kilogrammes per person
in 2006
All-time low
326 Kilogrammes per person
in 2021
Years of data
16
2006–2021

Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Japan, 2006–2021

01002003004002006201320212006: 407 Kilogrammes per person2007: 398 Kilogrammes per person2008: 377 Kilogrammes per person2009: 363 Kilogrammes per person2010: 354 Kilogrammes per person2011: 355 Kilogrammes per person2012: 355 Kilogrammes per person2013: 353 Kilogrammes per person2014: 349 Kilogrammes per person2015: 346 Kilogrammes per person2016: 340 Kilogrammes per person2017: 338 Kilogrammes per person2018: 337 Kilogrammes per person2019: 338 Kilogrammes per person2020: 330 Kilogrammes per person2021: 326 Kilogrammes per person

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Kilogrammes per person.

Analysis

In 2021, waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation in Japan stood at 326 Kilogrammes per person. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and down 8.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation in Japan peaked at 407 Kilogrammes per person in 2006 and was at its lowest, 326 Kilogrammes per person, in 2021.

Japan ranks 29th of 34 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.

Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Japan, year by year

Annual values for Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Japan, 2006 to 2021.
Year Kilogrammes per person Change
2006 407 Kilogrammes per person
2007 398 Kilogrammes per person -2.2%
2008 377 Kilogrammes per person -5.3%
2009 363 Kilogrammes per person -3.7%
2010 354 Kilogrammes per person -2.5%
2011 355 Kilogrammes per person +0.3%
2012 355 Kilogrammes per person +0.0%
2013 353 Kilogrammes per person -0.6%
2014 349 Kilogrammes per person -1.1%
2015 346 Kilogrammes per person -0.9%
2016 340 Kilogrammes per person -1.7%
2017 338 Kilogrammes per person -0.6%
2018 337 Kilogrammes per person -0.3%
2019 338 Kilogrammes per person +0.3%
2020 330 Kilogrammes per person -2.4%
2021 326 Kilogrammes per person -1.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 386.25 Kilogrammes per person 363 Kilogrammes per person 407 Kilogrammes per person 4
2010s 346.5 Kilogrammes per person 337 Kilogrammes per person 355 Kilogrammes per person 10
2020s 328 Kilogrammes per person 326 Kilogrammes per person 330 Kilogrammes per person 2

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 26 Estonia 373 Kilogrammes per person compare
  2. 27 Poland 367 Kilogrammes per person compare
  3. 28 Norway 359 Kilogrammes per person compare
  4. 30 Costa Rica 325 Kilogrammes per person
  5. 31 Mexico 305 Kilogrammes per person compare
  6. 32 Romania 252 Kilogrammes per person compare

See the full ranking of 38 places →

More environment data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation in Japan?
Waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation in Japan was 326 Kilogrammes per person in 2021, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 407 Kilogrammes per person in 2006.
What is the lowest waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 326 Kilogrammes per person in 2021.
How does Japan rank for waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation?
Japan ranks 29th out of 34 countries with data for 2021.
Is waste treatment - regions — municipal waste generation rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation in Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/waste-treatment-regions-municipal-waste-generation/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation
Unit
Kilogrammes per person
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
38 places, 734 data points, 1995–2023
Last refreshed

This dataset provides statistics on municipal waste and wastewater treatment in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions. Data definition and source Municipal waste data covers total amount municipal waste collected, recovered municipal waste and municipal waste used in controlled landfilling. Recovered municipal waste is defined as waste that undergoes material recycling or other forms of recovery (including energy recovery, composting), excluding landfilling. Wasterwater treated is measured by the share of population connected to at least secondary wastewater treatment. Data is collected via delegates of the OECD Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), as well as from national statistical offices' websites. Definition of regions Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). The OECD regions are presented in the OECD Territorial grid (pdf) and in the OECD Territorial correspondence table (xlsx). Cite this dataset OECD Regions and Cities databases http://oe.cd/geostats Further information The interactive web-tool OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas The report OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance Contact: RegionStat@oecd.org