Household waste recycling

In Flanders we try as much as possible to recycle waste that cannot be reused. The type of waste that is collected separately or not can vary depending on the municipality and intermunicipal authority.

63.8% recycled

  • In Flanders, 66.7% (incl. collected construction and demolition waste) of the total amount of household waste is recycled or composted.
  • By 2035 the goal is for all European member states to recycle 65% of their household waste (excl. collected construction and demolition waste).

What do we see?

Of the total amount of household waste in Flanders, 66.7% is recycled or composted (incl. the selectively collected construction and demolition waste). Until 2007 there was a sharp increase in recycled household waste. Afterwards this gradually decreased because the number of selectively collected waste flows also dropped. The most important explanation for this is probably the stricter access control at the recycling companies, meaning that less industrial waste ends up in the household recycling centres. 

As can be seen in the graph below, Flanders is one of the European leaders with a recycling percentage of 63.8% (excl. the selectively collected construction and demolition waste).



What’s the aim? 

The 2018 revision of the European Waste Framework Directive included new objectives and a stricter calculation method. The new recycling objectives state that 55% of household waste must be recycled by 2025, 60% by 2030 and 65% by 2035.

In addition, the EU has set a binding target to send a maximum 10% of household waste to landfill by 2035. In 2019 only 0.4% of household waste (excl. construction and demolition waste) in Flanders was sent to landfill. 

What does this indicator measure? 

This indicator measures the proportion of household waste (incl. comparable industrial waste) that is recycled or composted. By measuring the percentage recycled we can assess how far along we are in our transition to a circular economy. The higher this percentage, the further along we are. 

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Industrial waste recycling
68.0% recycled

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28.8 million tonnes

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Reuse indicator
221 kt (33.8 kg/cap)

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Circular Material Use Rate (CMUR)
20.7%

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