How much waste does Germany produce? For 2026 the figure works out at an estimated 359 million tonnes, or roughly 792 billion pounds.
The last year anyone measured is 2022, when Germany generated 385.8 million tonnes. Most of it never passed through a household bin. Construction and demolition alone made up 55.1% of the total, against 38.4% across the EU.
No EU country generated more waste in 2022 than Germany, whose 385.8 million tonnes was 17.3% of the bloc's total. The figure has been falling since, and on construction and factory output already measured for 2026, this year lands near 359 million tonnes.
Germany's waste totals (2012-2026)
Eurostat collects national waste figures every two years, so the series below runs on even years only.
| Year | Total waste (tonnes) | Change on the previous reading |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 359,344,098 | -15.2 million (-4.1%) |
| 2024 | 374,569,215 | -11.2 million (-2.9%) |
| 2022 | 385,794,886 | -15.4 million (-3.8%) |
| 2020 | 401,156,266 | -4.4 million (-1.1%) |
| 2018 | 405,523,624 | +5.5 million (+1.4%) |
| 2016 | 400,071,672 | +12.6 million (+3.2%) |
| 2014 | 387,504,241 | +19.5 million (+5.3%) |
| 2012 | 368,022,172 | baseline |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, covering all economic activities plus households. It runs every two years, and 2022 is the newest year it has published, so the 2024 and 2026 rows are our own estimates. The method is in the next section.
The line turned in 2018. Germany's waste climbed through the middle of the decade, peaked at 405.5 million tonnes, and has fallen at every reading since. By 2022 it was 4.9% below that peak, and on the estimates above 2026 sits 11.4% below it.
Where Germany's 2026 estimate comes from
Eurostat has not published 2024 yet, and 2026 will follow years behind that. The two most recent rows in the table above are therefore ours.
Each takes the sectors of the measured 2022 total and moves them by an activity index already measured for the year in question, rather than by a trend line. The figures below are the 2026 version of that calculation.
| Sector | Share of the 2022 total | Activity since 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 55.1% | down 10.7% |
| Manufacturing | 14.4% | down 7.9% |
| Households | 9.4% | up 3.7% |
| Mining and quarrying | 1.3% | down 16.2% |
| Everything else | 19.8% | held flat |
Note: Construction, manufacturing and mining move on Eurostat's monthly activity indices for Germany, construction output and industrial production, January to July 2026 against the 2022 average. Households move on municipal waste per person and population.
That gives 359 million tonnes for 2026, about 6.9% below 2022, or roughly 4,302 kg per person. Four fifths of the total moves on a measured index, and the remaining fifth, mostly waste and water services, is held flat because no monthly indicator tracks it.
The band runs from 353 million tonnes to 370 million. The low end assumes the held-flat fifth fell at the same rate as everything else, the high end assumes activity recovers over the rest of the year to its 2025 average.
Two limits are worth stating plainly:
- The indices stop in July. Five months of 2026 are still to come.
- Waste intensity is assumed constant. Each sector is taken to throw out the same waste per unit of output as it did in 2022, and that single assumption carries more weight than any other.
How Germany compares across the EU
Germany was the largest waste generator in the European Union in 2022, ahead of France at 343.2 million tonnes and Italy at 189.6 million. Between them, those three accounted for well over a third of everything the bloc threw out.
Per person the picture reverses. Germany generated 4,638 kg each, which is below the EU average of 4,981 kg. The country sits at the top of the table because it is the EU's largest economy and its most populous member state, not because each person there throws out more than their neighbours.
What counts as Germany's waste?
Everything is the short answer. The figure counts waste from 19 business sectors and from households, hazardous and ordinary together, measured in tonnes at the moment it is thrown out.
That is why it is so much larger than anything a person sees. Building sites, factories, sewage works, shops, farms, power stations and public offices are all in it, alongside the bin outside a flat.
The table below puts numbers on the same 2022 reference year the headline figure comes from.
| Where it comes from | Waste in 2022 (tonnes) | Share of the total |
|---|---|---|
| Building sites and demolition | 212,545,506 | 55.1% |
| Factories | 55,479,821 | 14.4% |
| Sewage works and waste plants | 50,415,989 | 13.1% |
| Households | 36,328,252 | 9.4% |
| Shops offices restaurants schools and hospitals | 15,370,281 | 4.0% |
| Power and gas plants | 8,087,430 | 2.1% |
| Mines and quarries | 4,966,257 | 1.3% |
| Scrap dealers | 1,634,966 | 0.4% |
| Farms and forestry | 966,384 | 0.3% |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, 2022 reference year. The labels are plain-English versions of the official activity classes. Shares are rounded, so they do not add to exactly 100.
Counted by what the waste is rather than who produced it, the picture holds. Excavated soil alone came to 120.0 million tonnes, and rubble from construction and demolition to another 83.9 million.
Mineral waste of one kind or another made up 61.5% of the national total. Household and similar waste, the bags and bins people picture when they hear the question, came to 20.1 million tonnes.
Two things make Germany's mix unusual. Building work takes a far bigger slice than it does elsewhere in Europe, and mining takes almost none. Across the EU, mining and quarrying generated 22.7% of all waste in 2022. In Germany it generated 1.3%.
Where a country has a large extractive industry, the material moved out of the ground can dominate its national total. Germany's is shaped by building and demolishing things instead.
How much German households throw out
Municipal waste is the slice a reader actually recognises, and because it is counted per person it is the closest thing to a like-for-like figure across Europe.
Germany generated 628 kg per person in 2024, the newest year Eurostat has published, against an EU average of 517 kg.
That is well above the average, though countries differ in how much commercial waste they count as municipal, so the gap is partly a counting difference rather than a behavioural one.
Germany's packaging waste
Packaging is the part of the pile that extended producer responsibility actually covers, and the part a company selling into Germany pays for directly.
Germany generated 17.9 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, the newest year on record. That works out at 215 kg of packaging waste per person, well above the EU average of 178 kg.
| Material | Generated in 2023 (tonnes) | Share recycled |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and cardboard | 7,748,400 | 86.6% |
| Wood | 3,141,700 | 30.2% |
| Plastic | 3,124,100 | 51.3% |
| Glass | 2,914,000 | 80.6% |
| Metal | 956,600 | 83.3% |
Note: Eurostat's packaging waste collection, 2023 reference year. Recycling shares are calculated on the basis set for the 2025 targets. The five materials do not quite sum to the total, because a small remainder is recorded as other packaging.
Wood is the outlier. It is the second-heaviest packaging material Germany puts on the market, and only 30.2% of it was recycled. Plastic is the second weakest at 51.3%, and its target rises from 50% to 55% in 2030.
Every producer placing packaged goods on the German market pays into this system, from the first item, with no volume threshold. The mechanics of that, the register and the fees, are set out in what producers have to register for in Germany and in more detail on packaging EPR in Germany.
Targets and where Germany stands
Packaging recycling targets are set in Article 52 of the EU packaging regulation, which replaced the old packaging directive on 12 August 2026. They come in two waves, one already passed and one in 2030.
Measured against the 2025 wave, Germany cleared every target with room to spare. Against the 2030 wave it is short on two of the seven, on its 2023 performance:
- All packaging waste. 69.2% recycled against a 70% target, a gap of 0.8 percentage points.
- Plastic. 51.3% against a 55% target, a gap of 3.7 percentage points.
- The other five are already met. Paper and cardboard at 86.6% against 85%, glass at 80.6% against 75%, steel at 86.7% against 80%, aluminium at 68% against 60%, and wood at 30.2% against 30%.
The two gaps are really one gap. Plastic is 17% of Germany's packaging by weight and the furthest from its target, so the overall rate cannot reach 70% until plastic moves.
Day to day, the system behind those numbers is run through LUCID, the packaging register operated by the ZSVR. Registration there is free, and the money side is a separate contract with a dual system, priced by material and by the volumes a producer reports.
Producers comparing the tools that handle those filings can start with the EPR software built for the German market.
Frequently asked questions about Germany's waste
Below are the seven questions that come up most often about Germany's waste figures.
How much waste does Germany produce each year?
Germany generated 385.8 million tonnes in 2022, the newest measured year, and is estimated to produce around 359 million tonnes in 2026. The 2022 figure was the highest in the European Union, at 4,638 kg per person.
Can Germany's waste be compared with other countries?
Only with care. Eurostat notes that the 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 Germany's total so much bigger than what its households throw out?
Because it counts the whole economy. Construction and demolition alone made up 55.1% of Germany's waste in 2022, while households accounted for 9.4%. Most of the national figure is rubble and industrial material, not domestic bins.
How much packaging waste does Germany generate?
Germany generated 17.9 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, or 215 kg per person, against an EU average of 178 kg. Paper and cardboard was the largest share by weight, followed by wood and plastic.
Does Germany meet its packaging recycling targets?
On its 2023 figures Germany met every target set for 2025, including the 65% overall rate. Against the 2030 targets it was short on two, the 70% overall rate and the 55% plastic rate.
Why is Germany's newest measured total from 2022?
Eurostat collects national waste generation every two years and publishes it after a long lag, so 2022 is the most recent measured year. The 2026 figure on this page is our own estimate, built from construction and factory output indices that have been measured.
Which EU country produces the most waste?
Germany, on the 2022 figures, at 385.8 million tonnes. France was second with 343.2 million tonnes and Italy third with 189.6 million. Per person, though, Germany was below the EU average of 4,981 kg.
Images: PantheraLeo1359531
