Recently published figures by Eurostat show that in 2022, the EU exported 32.1 million tonnes of waste to non-EU countries. This was a slight decrease of 3% compared with 2021. Imports of waste from non-EU countries decreased by 5% since 2021, amounting to 18.7 million tonnes. This information comes from annual data on trade in waste released by Eurostat on 18 January 2024.
Türkiye: main destination for EU’s waste exports
The main destination for waste exports outside the EU was Türkiye. With a volume of 12.4 million tonnes, it accounted for 39% of the total exports of waste. Followed by India, which received 3.5 million tonnes of waste from the EU in 2022, followed by the United Kingdom (2.0 million tonnes), Switzerland (1.6 million), Norway (1.6 million), Egypt (1.6 million), Pakistan (1.2 million), Indonesia (1.1 million), Morocco and the United States (both 0.8 million).
Ferrous metals waste accounts for half of all waste exports from the EU
In 2022, the EU exported 17.8 million tonnes of ferrous metals waste (iron and steel), accounting for 55% of all waste exports from the EU. The main destination was Türkiye which received 10.7 million tonnes, almost two thirds (60%) of all ferrous metal waste exported from the EU.
Considerable amounts of paper waste were also exported, amounting to 4.9 million tonnes or 15% of the EU’s waste exports in 2022. The main destination was India (30% of total paper waste exports).
On the import side, the EU received 4.2 million tonnes of ferrous metals (22% of all waste imports) and 2.4 million tonnes of paper (13% of all waste imports). The largest amounts of those waste were coming from the United Kingdom – 1.3 tonnes or 33% of total ferrous metals waste and 1.2 tonnes or 49% of total paper waste imports.
- Source: Eurostat press release
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