How much waste does Finland produce? For 2026 the figure works out at an estimated 117.1 million tonnes, or roughly 258 billion pounds, most of it rock and soil from mines and building sites.
Eurostat last measured it in 2022, when Finland generated 110.8 million tonnes, or 19,948 kg per person. That is four times the EU average of 4,981 kg and the highest of the 27 member states.
Finland's municipal waste fell from 630 kg per person in 2021 to 457 kg in 2024, below the EU average. Its national total of 110.8 million tonnes in 2022 rose again by 2024, because it follows the country's mines rather than its homes.
Finland's waste totals by year (2010-2026)
Eurostat measures national waste every two years, so the table runs on even years from 2010 to 2022 and is carried forward to 2026, with each change set against the reading before.
| Year | Tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 117,116,062 | -2.6 million (-2.2%) |
| 2024 | 119,765,387 | +8.9 million (+8.1%) |
| 2022 | 110,833,871 | -5.3 million (-4.6%) |
| 2020 | 116,133,654 | -12.1 million (-9.5%) |
| 2018 | 128,264,974 | +5.4 million (+4.4%) |
| 2016 | 122,869,183 | +26.9 million (+28.0%) |
| 2014 | 95,969,888 | +4.1 million (+4.5%) |
| 2012 | 91,824,193 | -12.5 million (-12.0%) |
| 2010 | 104,336,944 | baseline |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, covering all economic activities plus households. 2022 is the newest year published, so the 2024 and 2026 rows are our estimates, built on Statistics Finland's yearly count.
The Finnish line swings far more than most. It rose by 26.9 million tonnes between 2014 and 2016, peaked at 128.3 million in 2018 and then fell at the next two readings.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) traces both the rise and the fall to "other mineral wastes", the rock and stone that mining and quarrying leave behind, which make up most of the Finnish total.
How the 2024 and 2026 estimates for Finland are built
Eurostat's series stops at 2022, but Statistics Finland counts the country's waste by industry every year, and its count runs to 2024.
Its totals for 2018 and 2020 match Eurostat's within 0.1%. For 2022 it records 113.2 million tonnes, 2.1% above Eurostat's figure, and almost all of that gap sits in mining waste.
The table therefore moves each industry's part of Eurostat's 2022 figure by the change Statistics Finland recorded for it between 2022 and 2024. Run on the years already measured, the same method lands within 2.2% of Eurostat's totals.
| Part of the total | Change 2022-2024 | 2024 estimate (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|
| Mining and quarrying | +10.7% | 93,730,367 |
| Construction | +1.1% | 10,792,513 |
| Manufacturing | -1.7% | 10,205,981 |
| Energy, waste sector and services | +8.3% | 3,698,922 |
| Households | -20.2% | 1,337,603 |
| Total | +8.1% | 119,765,387 |
Note: Statistics Finland's waste statistics for 2024, published 16 June 2026, with waste generation by industry from 2017 to 2024, applied to Eurostat's 2022 figures.
Statistics Finland's own 2024 total is 122.4 million tonnes. The table's figure is lower because it starts from Eurostat's 2022 figure rather than Statistics Finland's.
Eurostat's monthly output indices for mining and construction were tested as a driver as well, and dropped. On the years already measured they missed by up to 10.4%, because Finnish mining and construction waste do not move in step with output.
From 2024 to 2026
Statistics Finland's count does not reach 2026, so the 2026 figure rests on four stated assumptions.
- Mining waste returns to its recent average. It moved between 87.0 and 96.3 million tonnes a year from 2020 to 2024, and 2024 was the top of that range, so 2026 takes the five-year average of 91.5 million in Statistics Finland's count.
- Construction waste does the same. It moved between 10.7 and 13.7 million tonnes over those five years, and 2026 takes its average of 12.2 million.
- Factories, power plants, the waste sector and services keep their pace. Each grows at its own average yearly change between 2020 and 2024.
- Household waste grows with the population. Finland's population rose 0.9% between January 2024 and January 2026, and household waste moves by the same amount, with waste per person held at its 2024 level.
Together they give 117.1 million tonnes for 2026, 2.2% less than the 2024 estimate and 5.7% more than Eurostat measured in 2022.
How wide the range is
At the low end, mining and construction fall back to their lowest levels of 2020 to 2024 and everything else stays where it was in 2024, which gives 110.6 million tonnes.
At the high end, both return to their highest levels of those years and the rest keeps its recent growth, which gives 123.4 million tonnes. The range is wide because Finland's total has moved by up to 9.5% between two readings.
Finland at a glance
Four figures from 2022 place the Finnish total in the European picture.
- Share of the EU total. Finland generated 5.0% of the EU's 2.23 billion tonnes of waste with 1.2% of its population, the eighth-largest total of the 27 member states.
- Waste per person. At 19,948 kg it ranked first in the EU, ahead of Estonia at 16,596 kg and Sweden at 15,627 kg.
- Mining waste. Its 84.7 million tonnes from mining and quarrying were the third-largest such total after Romania and Sweden, and the largest per person, at 15,241 kg.
- Waste without rock and soil. Leave out mineral waste and Finland generated 1,800 kg per person, almost exactly the EU's 1,771 kg.
That last figure matters when reading the headline. Finland's homes, shops and factories generate about as much waste per person as the EU average, and the gap between Finland and the rest of the EU is almost entirely mineral waste.
Why is Finland's total so large?
Counted by type, here is what made up Finland's 2022 total, set beside the same types' shares across the EU.
| Waste type | Finland | EU |
|---|---|---|
| Other mineral waste | 80.9% | 25.1% |
| Soils | 9.2% | 22.1% |
| Wood waste | 2.0% | 2.1% |
| Household and similar waste | 1.4% | 5.8% |
| Combustion waste | 1.3% | 3.9% |
| Everything else | 5.3% | 40.9% |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, 2022 reference year. Shares are rounded. In Finland, other mineral waste comes mainly from mining and quarrying.
Mineral waste of all kinds made up 91.0% of the Finnish total, against 64.4% across the EU. Statistics Finland describes it as mostly earth and stone, and the extractive waste that mining leaves behind is the largest part of it.
Wood waste is small for a forest country. Since 2014 Finland has counted most of its wood residue as a by-product rather than as waste, the EEA notes, so it no longer appears in the figures.
Which Finnish industries generate it?
Counted by who reported it, mining and quarrying reported 84.7 million tonnes in 2022, or 76.4% of the total, against 22.4% across the EU. Construction followed with 9.6% and manufacturing with 9.4%.
Construction's 9.6% is a quarter of its EU share of 38.7%, though at 10.7 million tonnes the amount of construction and demolition waste is not small. Households reported 1.5% of the total, against 8.8% across the EU.
How much Finnish homes throw out
Finland generated 457 kg of municipal waste per person in 2024, the newest year on Eurostat's record, below the EU average of 517 kg. Countries differ in how much commercial waste they count as municipal, so part of that gap is a counting difference.
The Finnish figure has fallen fast. It peaked at 630 kg in 2021 and dropped in each of the three years since, and Statistics Finland describes the fall in 2023 as the second large drop in a row.
Packaging waste in Finland by material
This is the slice of Finnish waste that extended producer responsibility makes producers pay for, through their fees to an approved packaging producer organisation.
Finland generated 856,901 tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, 3.5% less than in 2022. That is 153 kg per person, below the EU average of 178 kg.
Here is the 2023 total by material, with the share of each that was recycled.
| Material | Tonnes | Recycled |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and cardboard | 329,503 | 96.2% |
| Wood | 238,366 | 22.6% |
| Plastic | 159,098 | 29.3% |
| Glass | 78,949 | 91.7% |
| Metal | 50,985 | 80.2% |
Note: Eurostat's packaging waste collection, 2023 reference year, with recycling shares on the basis set for the 2025 targets. The five lines add up to the reported total.
Paper and cardboard made up 38.5% of Finnish packaging and wood 27.8%, against 15.8% for wood across the EU. Plastic made up 18.6%.
Why Finland's packaging figures jumped in 2020
Finland's packaging total rose by 20.1% between 2019 and 2020, and its recycling rate fell from 70.6% to 61.2%. The EEA puts the fall in the rate down to the EU's new counting rules, which Finland applied from that year, and part of the rise in the total too.
The EEA explains that estimates for free riders, very small producers, private imports and distance sellers were added to the packaging counted, and losses in the recycling process were taken off the amount recycled.
On the old rules, plastic's 2020 rate would have been 45%, against 26% on the new ones.
Who pays for packaging in Finland?
Every waste stream in Finland is recorded in one register, Tuottajarekisteri, the Finnish producer register, run by the Finnish Supervisory Agency since January 2026.
A producer does not normally file there itself. It joins an approved producer responsibility organisation, which reports it to the register. For packaging there are two, Finnish Packaging Producers, served through Rinki, and Sumi.
Since 2023 Finnish law has required those organisations' fees to vary with how recyclable and reusable the packaging is, the EEA notes. Producers have carried responsibility for their packaging in Finland since 1998.
Drinks cans and bottles also run through Palpa's deposit return scheme, which producers join voluntarily, encouraged by a tax exemption. Palpa reported a return rate of 92% for plastic bottles in 2025, and close to full return of cans and glass bottles.
Everything a producer selling into Finland must register for is set out on Repax's Finland EPR overview, and the packaging detail on packaging EPR in Finland.
Where Finland stands on recycling
Finland recycled 59.4% of its packaging in 2023, against 67.4% across the EU, 20th of the 23 member states that had reported a 2023 rate. Before the counting change it had reached 70.6% in 2019.
The EU packaging regulation sets recycling targets in its Article 52, due by the end of 2025 and the end of 2030. The table sets Finland's latest rates, from 2023, the newest year with official figures, against both.
| Packaging | Targets 2025 / 2030 | Finland's latest rate |
|---|---|---|
| All packaging | 65% / 70% | 59.4% |
| Paper and cardboard | 75% / 85% | 96.2% |
| Glass | 70% / 75% | 91.7% |
| Ferrous metals | 70% / 80% | 73.0% |
| Aluminium | 50% / 60% | 87.5% |
| Wood | 25% / 30% | 22.6% |
| Plastic | 50% / 55% | 29.3% |
Note: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Article 52(1). Finland's rates are Eurostat's, 2023 reference year.
On its 2023 figures Finland met four of the seven targets due by 2025, for paper and cardboard, glass, ferrous metals and aluminium. The overall rate was 5.6 percentage points short, wood 2.4 and plastic 20.7.
The EEA's March 2025 profile of Finland, on 2022 data, singled out plastic as the packaging material that most needed more effort to reach its 2025 target.
How Finland treats its municipal waste
In 2024 Finland sent 50.9% of its municipal waste to incineration with energy recovery, against 25.5% across the EU. Among the 20 member states with a 2024 figure, only Sweden and Denmark burned a larger share.
Only 0.4% went to landfill, the second-lowest share after Belgium, so the EU's limit of 10% by 2035 is already met. Finland taxes landfill at 70 euros a tonne and does not tax incineration, the EEA notes.
Recycling took 47.9% of Finnish municipal waste in 2024, against 48.1% across the EU. The EU target is 55% by 2025, and the EEA rated Finland at risk of missing it.
For producers comparing software to handle their Finnish reporting, there is a ranked guide to Finnish EPR software.
Frequently asked questions about Finland's waste
Below are the seven questions that come up most about Finland's waste figures.
How much waste does Finland produce each year?
Finland is estimated to produce around 117.1 million tonnes of waste in 2026, up from the 110.8 million Eurostat measured in 2022. That 2022 figure came to 19,948 kg per person, the highest in the EU and four times the EU average.
Can Finland's waste be compared with other countries?
Only with care. Eurostat says the differences between countries reflect consumption and wealth but also depend on how municipal waste is collected and managed, and the Finnish total also hangs on how much rock its mines move in a given year.
Why does Finland produce so much waste per person?
Because of its mines. Mineral waste, mostly rock, stone and earth, made up 91.0% of the 2022 total. Leave it out and Finland generated 1,800 kg per person, almost exactly the EU average of 1,771 kg.
How much of Finland's municipal waste is recycled?
In 2024 Finland recycled 47.9% of its municipal waste, against 48.1% across the EU, and burned 50.9% for energy. The EU target is 55% by 2025, which the EEA assessed Finland as at risk of missing.
How much packaging waste does Finland generate?
Finland generated 856,901 tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, or 153 kg per person, below the EU average of 178 kg. Paper and cardboard made up 38.5% of it, wood 27.8% and plastic 18.6%.
Does Finland have a deposit return scheme?
Yes. Palpa runs a deposit system for drinks cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles, which producers join voluntarily, encouraged by a tax exemption. Palpa reported a 92% return rate for plastic bottles in 2025 and close to full return of cans and glass.
Why did Finland's packaging recycling rate drop in 2020?
Because the counting rules changed. From 2020 Finland added estimated packaging from free riders, very small producers and online sellers, and took recycling losses off the amount recycled, so the rate fell from 70.6% in 2019 to 61.2%.
Images: Jani Hakomäki
