What do we see?
In 2019, 2,092kt of waste was collected in Flanders. The figures indicate a downward trend compared to 2013 when 2,139kt of municipal solid waste was collected. The amount of waste collected in 2019 was higher than in 2017 and 2018, so the figures have started to increase again since 2017. In addition, we see that in 2019 more than half of the municipal solid waste (55%) was sorted waste collected for recycling.
What’s the aim?
In a circular economy, we need to use, reuse and recycle materials as much as possible to avoid serviceable materials being destroyed and in order to preserve the value of materials as long as possible. This means we need to avoid waste as much as possible, and reuse materials as best we can to avoid the loss of raw materials. Taking that into account, a lower amount of produced and collected waste may indicate more effort being put into waste prevention and material reuse. To increase the potential of the better waste processing methods like recycling, we need to promote the collection of sorted waste. The figures in this area are encouraging, but there is still more work to be done.
What does this indicator measure?
This indicator shows how much municipal solid waste is collected in Flanders and it is processed. The data was provided by OVAM.
