How much waste does France produce? For 2026 the figure works out at an estimated 343.8 million tonnes, or roughly 758 billion pounds.
The last year anyone measured is 2022, when France generated 343.2 million tonnes. Half of it was soil dug out of the ground, and building work as a whole produced 72.1% of the total, against 38.7% across the EU.
French households generated 31.3 million tonnes of waste in 2022. The national total that year was 343.2 million tonnes, almost eleven times as much, because it counts every building site, factory, sewage works and farm alongside the bins outside French homes.
How much waste France generated year by year (2010-2026)
Eurostat measures national waste every two years, so the table runs on even years, carried forward from 2022 to 2026.
| Year | Total waste (tonnes) | Change on the previous reading |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 343,849,319 | +0.6 million (+0.2%) |
| 2024 | 343,289,712 | +0.1 million (+0.0%) |
| 2022 | 343,210,526 | +35.9 million (+11.7%) |
| 2020 | 307,283,050 | -33.9 million (-9.9%) |
| 2018 | 341,139,399 | +20.8 million (+6.5%) |
| 2016 | 320,309,999 | -4.2 million (-1.3%) |
| 2014 | 324,462,969 | -20.0 million (-5.8%) |
| 2012 | 344,440,922 | -10.6 million (-3.0%) |
| 2010 | 355,081,245 | baseline |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, covering all economic activities plus households. 2022 is the newest year it has published, so the 2024 and 2026 rows are our own estimates, explained in the next section.
The year France's line bent
The series bends once, in 2020. France's total fell 9.9% to 307.3 million tonnes that year, then rose 11.7% to 343.2 million by 2022.
Nearly all of that swing came from construction. Its waste went from 240.2 million tonnes in 2018 to 212.7 million in 2020, then back up to 247.4 million in 2022.
Eurostat's monthly construction output index shows how unusual 2020 was on French building sites. The index averaged 94.2 that year against 112.3 in 2018, and in April 2020 it fell to 41.6, less than half its 2021 level.
Before that dip the total had been drifting down from 355.1 million tonnes in 2010, the highest reading France has on record in the series.
Behind France's 2024 and 2026 estimates
Eurostat has not published France's 2024 total yet, so the two newest rows in the table are estimates built on the measured 2022 figure. Three parts of it move on activity that has already been measured:
- Manufacturing. Moved by Eurostat's industrial production index, up 3.2% from its 2022 average to the first seven months of 2026.
- Mining and quarrying. Moved by its own production index, down 17.7% over the same period.
- Households. Moved by municipal waste per person and population, up 0.3%.
Construction, which makes up 72.1% of the total, is held at its 2022 level. Its waste does not follow the construction output index, and estimates built on that index came out as much as 11.2% too low when tested on past readings.
That gives about 343.8 million tonnes for 2026, essentially unchanged from 2022. Since 2004 France's construction waste has moved by between 12.7% down and 20.4% up over four years, so the range is wide, from 312 million to 394 million tonnes.
France by the numbers
The figures below place France's 2022 total in the European picture, all from the same Eurostat collection and the same reference year.
- Total waste. 343.2 million tonnes, the second-largest total in the EU after Germany's 385.8 million.
- Share of the EU. 15.4% of the 2.23 billion tonnes generated across the EU-27.
- Per person. 5,034 kg, slightly above the EU average of 4,981 kg.
- Excavated soil. 170.1 million tonnes, which is 34.5% of all the soil the EU recorded as waste that year.
Those rankings compare tonnage, and half of France's tonnage is earth moved on building sites. They say more about how much France builds and digs than about how much its people throw away.
What France's waste is made of
Sorted by what the waste physically is, rather than who produced it, the 2022 total breaks down as follows.
| What the waste is | Waste in 2022 (tonnes) | Share of the total |
|---|---|---|
| Excavated soil | 170,143,981 | 49.6% |
| Rubble from building and demolition | 71,390,706 | 20.8% |
| Metal paper glass plastic wood and textiles | 36,787,367 | 10.7% |
| Household and similar waste | 20,835,482 | 6.1% |
| Food plant and animal waste | 12,771,984 | 3.7% |
| Other mineral waste | 11,775,273 | 3.4% |
| Mixed materials and sorting leftovers | 11,032,278 | 3.2% |
| Everything else | 8,473,455 | 2.5% |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, 2022 reference year. The labels are plain-English groupings of the official waste categories, and "everything else" covers chemical and medical waste, discarded equipment and vehicles, and sludges.
Soil and building rubble together came to 70.4% of the national total. The loose materials a recycler handles, from scrap metal to cardboard and timber, made up about a tenth.
Who generates France's waste
Counted by who produced it, the picture is the same one seen from the other side. The construction sector generated 72.1% of France's waste in 2022, construction and demolition waste included, against 38.7% across the EU.
Households came second at 9.1%, followed by water, sewage and waste services at 7.4% and manufacturing at 5.4%. Mining and quarrying generated 0.1% of France's total, against 22.4% across the EU as a whole.
Since 2023 France has also run a producer responsibility scheme for the products and materials used in buildings. It covers what later becomes demolition waste, not the soil dug out on site, and its rules are set out on construction materials EPR in France.
The waste French households put out
Municipal waste is the slice most readers picture, the household bins plus similar waste from shops and offices. It is counted per person, which makes it the closest thing to a like-for-like figure across Europe.
France generated 530 kg of municipal waste per person in 2024, the newest year Eurostat has published, against an EU average of 517 kg. That is slightly above the average, though countries differ in how much commercial waste they count as municipal, so part of any gap is a counting difference.
How much packaging waste France generates
Packaging is the part of the pile that extended producer responsibility covers, and the part a company selling into France pays for directly.
France generated 11.8 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, the newest year on record, 6.8% less than in 2022. That works out at 172 kg of packaging waste per person, just below the EU average of 178 kg.
| Material | Generated in 2023 (tonnes) | Share recycled |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and cardboard | 4,920,291 | 94.8% |
| Glass | 2,573,794 | 83.7% |
| Plastic | 2,428,987 | 25.7% |
| Wood | 1,373,319 | 37.1% |
| Metal | 519,477 | 68.0% |
Note: Eurostat's packaging waste collection, 2023 reference year, with recycling shares calculated on the basis set for the 2025 targets. A remainder of 4,726 tonnes is recorded as other packaging, which is why the five materials fall just short of the total.
What happens to France's plastic packaging
Plastic is where France stands apart. Only 25.7% of its plastic packaging was recycled in 2023, against 41.7% across the EU.
Almost exactly half of it, 1.21 million of the 2.43 million tonnes, went to energy recovery instead, burned to produce heat and power. Paper and glass run the other way, at 94.8% and 83.7% recycled, both well above the EU averages of 87.0% and 74.9%.
Who pays for it
Household packaging has been under producer responsibility in France since 1993. Since January 2024 it has shared one scheme with graphic paper, and producers join one of three approved organisations, Adelphe, Citeo or Léko.
Packaging used between businesses joins on 1 January 2027, when the scheme for professional packaging opens to all of it. What a producer has to register for is set out in the EPR duties for selling into France, and the packaging rules in detail on packaging EPR in France.
Where France stands on the EU recycling targets
The EU packaging regulation sets the recycling targets in its Article 52, in two waves, one due by the end of 2025 and one by the end of 2030. The table sets France's 2023 rates against both.
| Packaging | Target by 2025 | Target by 2030 | France in 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| All packaging | 65% | 70% | 69.0% |
| Paper and cardboard | 75% | 85% | 94.8% |
| Glass | 70% | 75% | 83.7% |
| Ferrous metals | 70% | 80% | 73.3% |
| Aluminium | 50% | 60% | 47.6% |
| Wood | 25% | 30% | 37.1% |
| Plastic | 50% | 55% | 25.7% |
Note: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Article 52(1). France's rates are Eurostat's, 2023 reference year.
On its 2023 performance France had already met five of the seven 2025 targets. The two it had not are these:
- Plastic. 25.7% recycled against a 50% target, a gap of 24.3 percentage points.
- Aluminium. 47.6% against 50%, a gap of 2.4 points.
Against the 2030 wave, glass, paper and cardboard, and wood were already met. The overall rate was 1.0 point short of 70%, ferrous metals 6.7 points short, aluminium 12.4 and plastic 29.3.
Day to day, the system runs on the declarations producers make to their packaging organisation, which reports its members' figures to ADEME, France's environment agency, whose national producer register issues each producer's unique identifier. Producers comparing the tools that prepare those declarations can start with the EPR software built for the French market.
Frequently asked questions about France's waste
Below are the eight questions that come up most often about France's waste figures.
How much waste does France produce each year?
France is estimated to produce around 343.8 million tonnes of waste in 2026. The newest measured year, 2022, came to 343.2 million tonnes, the second-largest total in the EU after Germany, at 5,034 kg per person.
Can France's waste be compared with other countries?
Only with care. Eurostat notes that differences between countries reflect consumption and wealth but also how much commercial and administrative waste each one counts as municipal, so part of any gap between two countries is counting practice rather than rubbish.
Why is half of France's waste soil?
Because the national total counts the earth dug out during construction work. Excavated soil came to 170.1 million tonnes in 2022, 49.6% of everything France generated, and the construction sector as a whole produced 72.1% of the total.
How much packaging waste does France generate?
France generated 11.8 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, or 172 kg per person, just below the EU average of 178 kg. Paper and cardboard was the largest material by weight, followed by glass and plastic.
How much of France's plastic packaging is recycled?
France recycled 25.7% of its plastic packaging in 2023, against 41.7% across the EU and a 2025 target of 50%. Almost exactly half of its plastic packaging went to energy recovery instead, 1.21 million of 2.43 million tonnes.
Does France meet the EU packaging recycling targets?
On its 2023 figures France met five of the seven targets set for 2025, including the 65% overall rate. It was short on plastic, at 25.7% against 50%, and on aluminium, at 47.6% against 50%.
How is France's 2026 waste figure estimated?
It starts from the measured 2022 total and moves manufacturing, mining and households by activity already measured for 2026. Construction, 72.1% of the total, is held at its 2022 level because its waste does not follow any published index, so the range is wide.
Who runs packaging EPR in France?
Producers of household packaging join one of three approved organisations, Adelphe, Citeo or Léko, which register them with ADEME, the national environment agency. All professional packaging joins the system on 1 January 2027, with three schemes of its own.
Images: François GOGLINS
