Türkiye was the main destination for waste exports from the European Union in 2022, new data has shown, with the country accounting for 12.4 million tonnes of waste exports, 39% of the total EU volume.
India was another core destination for EU waste exports (3.5 million tonnes), followed by the United Kingdom (2.0 million tonnes), Eurostat’s data showed.
Other recipients for EU waste in 2022 included Switzerland (1.6 million), Norway (1.6 million), Egypt (1.6 million), Pakistan (1.2 million), Indonesia (1.1 million), Morocco and the United States (both 0.8 million).
In 2022, the EU exported 32.1 million tones of waste to non-EU countries, a slight decrease of 3% compared with the previous year.
Ferrous metals waste
The majority of waste exported from the EU – some 17.8 million tonnes – was taken up by ferrous metals waste, such as iron and steel.
This accounted for 55% of all waste exports from the EU, with Türkiye receiving 10.7 million tonnes alone.
Paper waste
Another major category for exports was paper waste, with 4.9 million tonnes exported, or 15% of the EU’s total waste exports.
The main destination for this paper waste was India, which accounted for 30% of paper waste imports.
Imports of waste into the EU totalled 18.7 million tonnes, a 5% decrease since 2021. Ferrous metals accounted for 22% of all EU waste imports, with a third of this (1.3 million tonnes) coming from the UK.
