How We Are Recovering Waste

Australia recycles a higher percentage of its municipal waste than the OECD benchmark.
41% of Australia’s municipal waste is recycled compared to the 25% in the OECD area. South Korea recycles the most at 64%.
9.2% of Australia’s municipal waste is used for energy recovery.
Many European countries have high rates of energy recovery from municipal waste. However, it is Japan that has the highest rate with 74% of their municipal waste being recovered for energy.
Name | Municipal Waste Recycled (%) * | Data Year | Municipal Waste Energy Recovery (%) * |
---|---|---|---|
Australia | 28% | 2018/19 | 9.2%** |
Austria | 26% | 2019 | 39% |
Belgium | 34% | 2019 | 42% |
Chile | 0% | ||
Colombia | |||
Costa Rica | 3% | ||
Czech Republic | 23% | 2019 | 17% |
Denmark | 34% | 2019 | 48% |
Estonia | 30% | 2019 | 48% |
Finland | 29% | 2019 | 56% |
France | 26% | 2019 | 34% |
Germany | 48% | 2019 | 32% |
Greece | 16% | 2019 | 1% |
Hungary | 27% | 2019 | 14% |
Iceland | 19% | 2017 | 1% |
Ireland | 30% | 2018 | 43% |
Israel | 7% | 2019 | 2% |
Italy | 32% | 2019 | 20% |
Japan | 20% | 2018 | 74% |
Latvia | 35% | 2019 | 3% |
Lithuania | 31% | 2019 | 17% |
Luxembourg | 30% | 2019 | 47% |
Netherlands | 28% | 2019 | 41% |
New Zealand | |||
Norway | 30% | 2019 | 49% |
Poland | 25% | 2019 | 22% |
Portugal | 13% | 2019 | 20% |
Slovakia | 27% | 2019 | 5% |
Slovenia | 52% | 2019 | 16% |
South Korea | 64% | 2018 | 23% |
Spain | 18% | 2019 | 11% |
Sweden | 32% | 2019 | 53% |
Switzerland | 30% | 2019 | 47% |
Turkey | 12% | 2019 | 0% |
United Kingdom | 27% | 2018 | 38% |
United States of America | 25% | 2018 | 13% |
Canada | 20% | ||
Mexico | 5% | ||
OECD MSW Recycling | |||
National Waste Report 2020 |