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 |