Increase the quantity and value of resources recovered at end of use

Tracking progress on global outcomes

1548: Recovered parts used for remanufacturing and other processes

Status: Insufficient Data

Target Methodology:

There is no global target available. Higher is better if additional environmental impacts by circulation are neglectable.

In a circular economy, it is expected that resource circulation occurs at as high an economic value as possible, retaining functionality of parts/components in waste products. An emerging example is that parts and components are reused for remanufacturing. Another example is to use them as spare parts for repairing existing products. These practices can reduce the use of new resources, production cost and associated energy consumption while simultaneously yielding larger economic profits.

The share of remanufacturing business, in terms of turnover in sectors with existing remanufacturing practices, was estimated to be 1.9% in 2015 in the European Union, while remanufacturing activities generated sales of 30 billion euros and employment of 190,000 people. Remanufacturing has appeared in many sectors, including automobile, aerospace, electrical and electronic equipment, medical equipment, machinery and more. The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France have been the biggest remanufacturers so far, and Brazil, India and China have growing remanufacturing activities.

The remanufacturing industry is expected to grow. However, there is no centralized or publicly available data source that can provide the data for this indicator. Efforts to facilitate data collection and make the resulting data publicly available are necessary.

1549: Reuse and recycling rate of vehicles at end-of-life

Status: Insufficient Data

Historical Data Methodology and Challenges:

Data is limited to a few European Union (EU) member countries. Estimated values by Eurostat are excluded from the dataset. Rates above 100% are stemmed from the treatment of stocks of end-of-life vehicles that had not been treated in previous years.No centralized or publicly available data source has been identified for other countries.

Target Methodology:

The EU end-of-life vehicles (ELV) directive (Article 7) set a target of 85% for reuse and recycling of ELV by 2015 (c.f. 95% for including recovery). Many countries have now exceeded 85%, so it should be higher than 85%, based on our judgment. We regarded the 2030 target set by the EU as an achievable target for other countries as well.

The reuse of parts and recycling of materials from end-of-life vehicles is important, as vehicles are heavy consumer products that use various valuable materials as well as polluting substances such as oil and heavy metals.

The average reuse and recycling rate of end-of-life vehicles in the European Union (EU) increased from 84.6% in 2012 to 89.1% in 2020. In most EU countries, this rate exceeded 85% in 2020, and in 14 countries it exceeded 90%. Progress in lagging countries remains a challenge. Another challenge is to increase the proportion of reuse in the rate to retain the highest value of automobile parts, such as used lithium-ion batteries and neodymium magnets, on top of recycling them. Centralized data is not available for non-EU countries.

1550: Reuse and recycling of e-waste per capita

Status: Insufficient Data

Historical Data Methodology and Challenges:

EU member countries’ data was collected from EUROSTAT’s “Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) by waste management operations.” Data for non-EU countries was collected from UNITAR’s “The Global E-waste Monitor 2020” report and is limited to recycling of e-waste. Per capita recycling of e-waste was calculated by dividing “E-waste documented to be collected and recycled (Mt)” by population (millions of people) data from the World Bank.

We selected this per capita indicator rather than recycling rates because e-waste recycling regulation differs by country and the scope of what products are targeted differs. Thus, the denominator of a recycling rate differs and the use of recycling rate is not so meaningful to compare.

Target Methodology:

(1) According to the EU WEEE directive, the six categories of WEEE collected must be prepared for reuse and recycled at percentages ranging from 55% to 80%, depending on the category. No target is available for the total.

(2) The collection target was 4 kilograms per capita until the end of 2015, but since 2019 it is either 65% of new products put on the market or 85% of waste products generated.

To set a target, an examination taking both (1) and (2) into account would be necessary.

Electrical and electronic waste, or “e-waste,” has drawn the attention of waste management legislators around the world for the last two decades. The amount of e-waste is increasing, ending up in landfills without recycling or being dumped illegally or improperly, even though it contains hazardous substances. This is especially evident in developing countries. People also use and own more electronic equipment, such as smartphones and tablets, than ever, making proper handling and recycling of e-waste increasingly necessary.

Per capita reuse and recycling of e-waste, measuring the reuse of parts and the recycling of materials, increased from 5.5 kilograms (kg) in 2012 to 8.8 kg in 2020 in the European Union (EU). This trend is positive, but there are discrepancies between countries. The 2020 rates in European countries ranged from 3.6 kg to 17.7 kg per capita. For non-EU countries, the rates around 2016 ranged from less than 0.1 kg to 16.8 kg per capita. Korea and Japan had relatively high rates of over 4 kg per capita, followed by the the United States, Canada and Australia, each with more than 2 kg per capita. The rates from 23 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and other regions were all less than 1 kg per capita. Establishing effective collection in lagging countries is a key step in managing e-waste. For the leading countries, increasing the reuse rate and the use of recycled materials in more valuable ways are still challenges.

It is important to note that this indicator is on a per capita basis. Therefore, if per capita e-waste recycling is increasing, it could be not because the recycling rate is increasing, but rather because people are generating more e-waste in total. A per capita indicator was selected due to the difficulty of estimating the total e-waste generation accurately for many countries in the world.

1551: Reuse and recycling rate of construction and demolition waste

Status: Insufficient Data

Historical Data Methodology and Challenges:

Data from the European Union was used (Recovery rate of construction and demolition waste “cei_wm040_esmsip2” on this web page), but the dataset was discontinued as of August 16, 2023.

This indicator is shared with the buildings system.

Target Methodology:

The EU Waste Framework Directive set a target of 70% of recovery rate (including backfilling) for 2020. However, Deloitte published a report that called for a target of 70% of recycling rate (excluding backfilling) by 2030 to the European Commission. We have chosen not to use the recovery target of 70% because the target is under dispute and can prevent increasing the reuse and recycling rate of construction and demolition waste.

Construction and demolition waste accounts for a large fraction of total waste. Many developed countries have already achieved a high recovery rate, but some developing countries are still struggling with the large amount of construction and demolition waste. Among construction and demolition waste, mixed waste is one of the most difficult wastes to recycle because it is composed of various materials such as steel, wood, fabric and ceramics.

The European Union set a target recovery rate of 70% by 2020. However, the available data includes not only reuse and recycling, but also backfilling, which is a low-grade use of inert materials just to fill holes in excavated areas. Recently, a 70% recycling rate (excluding backfilling) was suggested as a target for 2030. Actions to increase recycling other than the low-grade backfilling should be promoted by policymakers.

1552: Recycled organic municipal waste per capita

Status: Insufficient Data

Historical Data Methodology and Challenges:

The dataset was collected from EUROSTAT "cei_wm030", but the dataset was discontinued as of August 16, 2023.

Target Methodology:

There is an EU target of 65% by 2035, but no targets for 2030 and 2050 are available. Higher is better if additional environmental impacts by recycling are negligible.

In a circular economy, biomass resources must be returned to the economy or the natural environment in a beneficial way. Among biowaste, that of households is particularly important as it is often landfilled, while industrial biowaste is recycled on a relatively large scale. This indicator measures the progress in recycling (composting and methane fermentation) of biodegradable municipal waste, such as garden and park waste and food waste.

This indicator steadily increased from 53 kilograms (kg) per capita in 2000 to 97 kg per capita in 2020 in the European Union (EU). The EU is heading in the right direction, but progress in other regions is unknown due to the lack of publicly available data.

1553: Recycling rate of packaging waste

Status: Insufficient Data

Historical Data Methodology and Challenges:

Data only includes European countries and the United States, collected from EUROSTAT and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Target Methodology:

We regarded the 2030 target of 70% set by the EU as an achievable target for other countries as well. Under certain conditions, an EU member country is allowed to postpone the achievement by up to five years, and the average recycling rate of non-EU countries that the data is available is smaller than that of the EU average. Hence, the target year of 2030 is stringent on a global level.

Packaging is a constantly growing source of waste in the world. For example, the total amount of packaging waste in the European Union (EU) has increased by more than 20% over the last 10 years and is projected to increase by another 19% by 2030. On average, each European generates 179 kilograms (kg) of packaging waste annually. In addition, packaging tends to be single use and accompanied by the purchase of products in it.

Recycling policies on packaging waste have been implemented since the 1990s. Unfortunately, packaging recycling data tends to be for specific packaging materials or items such as PET bottles, and it is therefore hard to assess the entire situation. The EU and U.S. are good examples of jurisdictions that publish data on packaging recycling rates covering a variety of materials.

The recycling rate of packaging waste in the EU was 55% in 2005 and reached 68% in 2016, but then started to decline and was back to 64% in 2020, moving away from the EU target of 70% in 2030. In the U.S., the recycling rate increased from 41% in 2005 to 54% in 2018; however, 37% still ended up in landfills. The progress in the other regions is unknown in a comparable way. Factors affecting the recycling rate of different countries/regions include source separation of packaging waste at home and in the office, producers' involvement in responsibility schemes, and the existence of local collection schemes and their coverage of packaging items.

More efforts and enabling conditions are necessary, including, for example, motivation raising and incentives for sorting packaging waste. It is also important to promote collection that is efficient and convenient and ensure effective recycling that is supported by product design for higher recyclability. A proper financial scheme on recycling fees and a differentiated recycling fee system according to product recyclability, as well as stakeholder collaboration, can also make actions more effective.

1554: Recycling rate of municipal waste

Status: Well Off Track

Historical Data Methodology and Challenges:

Data was collected from the OECD’s “Municipal waste, Generation and Treatment.” Data of “% Material recovery (Recycling + Composting)” was used. Data was limited to OECD member countries and a few non-OECD countries. World data represents only OECD member countries.

Target Methodology:

We regarded the 2030 target of 60% set by the European Union (EU) as an achievable target for other countries as well. Under certain conditions, an EU member country is allowed to postpone the achievement by up to five years, and the recycling rate of the world average is smaller than that of the EU average. Hence, the target year of 2030 is stringent on a global level.

The recycling of municipal waste, which includes household waste, is a typical indicator that has been used by many countries for a long time. It increased gradually from 24% in 2000 to 35% in 2020 in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. However, the European Union adopted a policy target of 60% by 2030. For all OECD countries to achieve 60%, the annual improvement of recycling municipal waste would need to be accelerated by a factor of more than 10 compared to the trajectory from 2016 to 2020.

1555: Recycling rate of industrial waste

Status: Insufficient Data

Target Methodology:

There is no global target available. Higher is better if additional environmental impacts by recycling are negligible.

Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial processes. This includes almost all waste outside of municipal waste. Examples are sludge from wastewater treatment facilities, slags from metal refinery processes and various wastes from manufacturing processes. Information on the recycling rate of industrial waste is also important to advance recycling activities at the end of use. However, there is no centralized or publicly available data source. Harmonization of categories of industrial waste is also key to compare the progress of countries in recycling and identify best practices.

1556: Recycling rate of waste

Status: Insufficient Data

Historical Data Methodology and Challenges:

The majority of the data is from EU countries. EUROSTAT’s “Recycling rate of all waste excluding major mineral waste” was used for EU countries. Recycling rate for a few limited non-EU but OECD countries was calculated by dividing “Total amounts of primary waste generated, of which recycled” by “Total amounts of primary waste generated” from OECD. Recycling rate for Japan was calculated by dividing the amount of material recycling (excluding fuels) by the total amount of wastes and recyclables, which are the data published by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MoEJ). EUROSTAT, OECD and MOEJ may use slightly different key terms for the numerator and the denominator. Please refer to the original sources for further key terms and methodology.

Target Methodology:

There is no global target available. Higher is better if additional environmental impacts by recycling are negligible.

Tracking the global recycling rate is important because it shows the share of wastes that are recycled and diverted from waste disposal. Historically, “recycling rates” were used for specific waste streams, such as municipal waste, packaging, electronics and automobiles. However, such specific recycling rates do not give a holistic view on recycling and don't reveal how much total waste is truly being recycled. Therefore, the recycling rate of total waste, which includes all types of waste, including both municipal waste and industrial waste, has drawn recent attention.

The recycling rate of total waste increased in the European Union (EU) from 53% in 2010 to 58% in 2020. Several non-EU countries also have such data, with the rates in 2019 ranging from 10% in Colombia to 59% in Australia. Many countries have made notable efforts on recycling, but even a leading region like the EU is still not recycling more than 40% of materials in waste, although approximately half of the non-recycled waste is recovered for energy. Acceleration of actions is expected and will be important.

To make the economy circular, these non-recycled wastes should be recycled or avoided from the beginning. Governments, industries and citizens need to look at detailed situations of each waste stream and relevant consumption patterns. Setting an internationally agreed upon target is also an important task for the global community.

Key enablers and barriers to change

Data gathering in a format that would assist this shift would require global acceptance of a methodology that systematizes measurements, reporting and verification through the leadership of the United Nations and other global advocates for climate.

This shift is subject to a series of data challenges because of an absence of standardization.

Other shift Other shifts needed to transform the system

Global material consumption has more than tripled since 1970, causing increasing environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of materials and products. Decreasing overconsumption, especially in high consuming societies, is critical to ensure that human activities fit within the global capacity of our natural resources.

To keep materials in circulation for as long as possible, it’s just as important to design and produce new products with circular materials as it is to recover parts, recycle or regenerate materials. Closing this material loop is a necessary step toward enabling a circular economy.

More effective monitoring, regulations and laws are needed to minimize environmental and social harms in resource extraction, to tackle issues including deforestation, water pollution, overfishing, ecosystem disruption, worker injuries, child labor and other human rights violations.

Current production systems are still using resources inefficiently and generating losses of resources in production processes. Global material productivity needs to be improved far faster than the current trend.

The lifetime of products can be extended by a combination of durable product design, support services, and consumers' behavioral changes.

Past Event
Shifting to a Circular Economy: What You Need to Know

Increase the quantity and value of resources recovered at end of use

Enablers and barriers

Tracking progress on global outcomes

Key enablers and barriers to change

Data challenges

Other shift Other shifts needed to transform the system

Decrease overconsumption

Use recycled, reused and renewable materials and components

Minimize environmental and social harms in resource extraction

Make production more resource efficient

Use products longer

Enablers and barriers

Tracking progress on global outcomes

1548: Recovered parts used for remanufacturing and other processes

1549: Reuse and recycling rate of vehicles at end-of-life

1550: Reuse and recycling of e-waste per capita

1551: Reuse and recycling rate of construction and demolition waste

1552: Recycled organic municipal waste per capita

1553: Recycling rate of packaging waste

1554: Recycling rate of municipal waste

1555: Recycling rate of industrial waste

1556: Recycling rate of waste

Key enablers and barriers to change

1543: Number of extended producer responsibility schemes

1544: Countries with deposit-refund and pay-as-you-throw schemes

1545: Total number of design-for-recycling requirements (EU only)

1546: Hazardous waste generated per capita

1547: Percent of waste sorted and collected for recycling

Other shift Other shifts needed to transform the system

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