The EU member states were again able to raise the share of packaging waste which underwent recovery. The EU-wide recovery rate grew between 2010 and 2011 by 1.1 percentage points to 77.3 per cent. The generation of packaging waste increased by 2.5 million tonnes in the same period to reach a total of 80.2 million tonnes, according to data published by the EU statistics office Eurostat.
The share of packaging waste which was recycled across the 27 EU member states in 2011 stood at 63.6 per cent. This is an increase by 0.3 percentage points compared to the year before.
Belgium led the European recycling ranking with a quota of 80.2 per cent, according to the Eurostat data. The Netherlands and Germany came next with recycling rates of 71.9 and 71.8 per cent, respectively, which were slightly lower than one year before. The EU Packaging Waste Directive requires the member states since 2006 to reach a recycling rate of at least 55 per cent for all packaging materials taken together.