09.12.202509.12.2025

Municipal waste: progress on reuse and recycling too slow

Every person in the EU generates an average of over 500 kg of waste per year. Progress towards circularity varies greatly from country to country. Auditors suggest addressing the challenges in the recycling market to make it more economically viable

Many EU countries struggle to meet the targets for reusing and recycling municipal waste, and still rely too heavily on landfill because of financial constraints and weaknesses in their waste management plans, according to a report published today by the European Court of Auditors (ECA). The auditors found that the current recycling market faces challenges, separate waste collection remains at a very low level in some cases, and the disposal tariffs that citizens are charged do not necessarily cover all waste management costs.

“Circularity is a key enabler for realising the EU’s sustainable development goals. To achieve these goals, the EU should create the conditions necessary for a viable recycling industry”, said Stef Blok, the ECA Member responsible for the audit. “Citizens and businesses play a crucial role. Fiscal incentives, as well as requiring citizens to pay for the volume or weight of waste they generate, can encourage them to separate and reduce waste.”

Since EU law clearly prioritised the prevention, re-use and recycling of waste, targets and legal requirements for member states have followed suit. This is also reflected in the rules for EU funding, which have gradually favoured circular-economy investments excluding unsustainable practices, such as landfill. However, there are significant differences in how municipal waste targets are met across the EU – with little or no progress in a few member states – but the European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings slowly (for 2008 targets, they started only in 2024).

Another key challenge, according to the auditors, is the viability of the recycling industry. If there are not enough recycling facilities, targets cannot be met, but such facilities are either scarce in some member states, or – particularly those for plastics – risk closing due to rising costs, poor demand for their output, and imports of cheaper plastic from outside the EU. The auditors stress that providing a business case for recyclers is necessary, starting with identifying the demand- and supply-side challenges that affect the single market for circular products and secondary raw materials.

At national level, the auditors analysed a number of waste management projects co-financed by the EU, and found implementation delays and cost overruns. They also noted that in the audited member states (Greece, Poland, Portugal and Romania) progress towards effective municipal waste is slow because of insufficient public funding and an inability to fully utilise economic instruments, such as implementing deposit-return schemes, increasing the landfill tax, and applying a waste tariff based on the volume or weight of waste generated (the ‘pay-as-you-throw’ principle). Landfill taxes vary so significantly between member states that waste may even be shipped between countries for economic reasons. To address this issue, the auditors recommend assessing whether harmonising landfill and incineration taxes across the EU would be feasible.

Background information

Municipal waste is mostly composed of packaging materials and bio-waste (biodegradable garden and park waste, and food and kitchen waste). Effective municipal waste management requires well organised separate collections of various materials, appropriate infrastructure for sorting, treatment, incineration and/or landfill, and a viable market for the recycled output. The current targets are set by the Waste Framework Directive, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, and the Landfill Directive (all amended several times). The Commission has announced a new Circular Economy Act to be adopted in 2026 with the aim of addressing market and demand issues in recycling. The main sources of EU funding for municipal waste projects are the funds implemented under cohesion policy and the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Source

European Court of Auditors – Curia Rationum 2025 | EUROPÄISCHER RECHNUNGSHOF