Recycling rate of municipal waste in Italy

Italy recycled 52.3% of its municipal waste in 2024.

Measure: Recycling rate of municipal waste Unit: % of municipal waste generated Data: 2000 to 2024 Source: Eurostat
Italy, 2024 52.3% % of municipal waste generated
Change from 2023 +1.5percentage points 2023: 50.8%
European Union, 2024 49.4%i (Source flag i) Official aggregate
Median of European Union (27 countries), 2024 45.8% Middle value of 26 countries
Position in 2024 9th of 32 See the full ranking

Recycling rate of municipal waste in Italy over time

View
Places
2 selected
Italy European Union ×

% of municipal waste generated. Source: Eurostat. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Recycling rate of municipal waste (% of municipal waste generated), 2000 to 2024
Period ItalyEuropean Union
2024 52.3% 49.4%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2023 50.8% 47.9%
2022 53.3% 49.1%
2021 51.9% 49.7%
2020 51.4% 48.5%
2019 51.4% 47.2%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2018 49.8% 46.4%
2017 47.8% 46.3%
2016 45.9% 45.9%
2015 44.3%b (break in time series) 44.9%
2014 41.6% 43.4%
2013 39.4% 41.5%
2012 38.4% 40.9%
2011 35.5% 38.9%
2010 31.0% 38.0%
2009 29.7% 37.3%
2008 23.8% 36.6%
2007 25.0%b (break in time series) 35.2%
2006 19.2% 33.2%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2005 18.5% 32.5%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2004 17.6% 31.8%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2003 16.3% 31.1%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2002 14.8% 30.4%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2001 17.8% 28.7%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2000 14.2% 27.3%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)

Flags: i value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies; b break in time series . A dash means no value was published.

In short

  • That is a change of +1.5 percentage points from 50.8% in 2023.
  • Since 2014, when it was 41.6%, the figure has changed by +10.7 percentage points. The source marks a break in the series during this period, so part of the change may come from a change in method.
  • Among the 32 countries with data for 2024, Italy has the 9th highest value.
  • The figure for the European Union in 2024 was 49.4%.

Source and dates

Original producer
Eurostat
Source
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
Dataset or series code
sdg_11_60 · dataset details · view at source
Selection
freq=A unit=PC
Observation period
2000 to 2024 for Italy
Provider update
15 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
Eurostat reuse policy (attribution)
Attribution
Source: Eurostat