How much waste does Spain produce? For 2026 the figure works out at an estimated 109.7 million tonnes, or roughly 242 billion pounds.
The last year anyone measured is 2022, when Spain generated 110.1 million tonnes. Almost none of it was recorded from mines and quarries, 0.2% against 22.4% across the EU, which is a large part of why Spain's figure per person is among the lowest in the bloc.
The EU wants countries to landfill no more than 10% of their municipal waste by 2035. Spain landfilled 47.3% of it in 2024, out of a national total of 110.1 million tonnes of waste of every kind in 2022.
Spain's waste by year (2010-2026)
Eurostat measures national waste every two years, so the table runs on even years, carried forward from 2022 to 2026, with each change measured against the previous reading.
| Year | Tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 109,674,800 | +0.5 million (+0.4%) |
| 2024 | 109,220,281 | -0.9 million (-0.8%) |
| 2022 | 110,104,184 | +4.6 million (+4.3%) |
| 2020 | 105,514,447 | -32.3 million (-23.4%) |
| 2018 | 137,822,935 | +8.9 million (+6.9%) |
| 2016 | 128,958,523 | +18.4 million (+16.7%) |
| 2014 | 110,518,494 | -8.0 million (-6.8%) |
| 2012 | 118,561,669 | -19.0 million (-13.8%) |
| 2010 | 137,518,902 | 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.
Two of the big moves in this table say as much about counting as about waste. Spain's statistics office, INE, fully revised how it counts construction waste for 2016, and says in INE's quality report to Eurostat that 2016 cannot be compared with earlier years.
That revision sits behind most of the 18.4 million tonne rise between 2014 and 2016, when recorded construction waste went from 20.4 million to 35.8 million tonnes.
The 2020 fall
The steepest drop came between 2018 and 2020, when the total fell by 32.3 million tonnes, or 23.4%. Almost two thirds of that, 21.1 million tonnes, came from a single line, mining and quarrying, whose recorded waste fell from 23.6 million to 2.5 million tonnes.
By 2022 that line was down to 0.2 million tonnes, 99.2% below 2018. Over the same four years Spain's mining output index barely moved, so the recorded waste did not follow the activity. INE reports that its figures only partly cover mining waste such as waste rock and tailings.
How the 2026 figure for Spain is built
The two newest rows in the table are estimates built on the measured 2022 figure. Below is which parts of that figure move to 2026 and which are held at their 2022 level.
| Part of 2022 | Share | To 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Households | 21.5% | Moved |
| Construction | 32.9% | Held flat |
| Everything else | 45.6% | Held flat |
Households are the one part with a measured guide that works. Municipal waste per person fell from 485 kg in 2022 to 456 kg in 2024, while the population rose 4.4% between January 2022 and January 2026.
Tested on 2016 to 2022, that pairing came within 1.6 points of the household waste Eurostat later measured.
Construction and manufacturing failed the same test. Between 2020 and 2022 construction waste rose 11.4% while the construction output index fell 12.8%, and manufacturing waste moved the wrong way from its index between 2016 and 2018. Both are held flat.
Since the 2016 revision, Spain's construction waste has moved by between 14.5% down and 11.4% up in a two-year step. Taking two such steps either way puts the 2026 estimate of 109.7 million tonnes in a range from 100 million to 118 million.
Spain against the rest of the EU
Spain generated 4.9% of the 2.23 billion tonnes of waste recorded across the EU-27 in 2022. That made it the ninth-largest total in the bloc, although it has the fourth-largest population.
Per person the gap is wider still. Spain's 2,304 kg in 2022 was well under half the EU average of 4,981 kg, and only four member states generated less per head, namely Latvia, Croatia, Portugal and Lithuania.
The missing mining line explains much of it. Part of any gap between countries is also down to how each one counts its waste, so the per-person order is a rough guide rather than a league table.
Where does Spain's waste come from?
Counted by who produced it, in tonnes and as a share, Spain's 2022 total splits like this.
| Sector | Tonnes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 36,238,236 | 32.9% |
| Households | 23,656,464 | 21.5% |
| Water sewage and waste services | 23,590,939 | 21.4% |
| Manufacturing | 13,951,409 | 12.7% |
| Farming forestry and fishing | 6,043,196 | 5.5% |
| Shops offices and other services | 5,542,441 | 5.0% |
| Energy supply | 638,294 | 0.6% |
| Waste and scrap wholesalers | 258,980 | 0.2% |
| Mining and quarrying | 184,225 | 0.2% |
Note: Eurostat's waste generation collection, 2022 reference year. Shares are rounded and add to 100.0%.
Construction came first, though at 32.9% its share was below the EU's 38.7%. Most of it was soil dug out on building sites, 22.3 million tonnes, alongside 13.6 million tonnes of mineral rubble from construction and demolition.
Households carry an unusual weight
Households produced 21.5% of Spain's total, against 8.8% across the EU. That is not because Spanish homes throw out far more than others. It is because the other sectors, mining above all, add so little to the total.
The household and similar waste Spain recorded in 2022, 19.2 million tonnes, was 14.9% of that kind of waste across the whole EU.
Water, sewage and waste services came third at 21.4%, twice their EU share of 10.5%. Of their 23.6 million tonnes, 17.6 million came out of waste plants themselves, mostly the residues left once mixed waste has been sorted.
Household waste per person in Spain
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.
Spain generated 456 kg of municipal waste per person in 2024, the newest year Eurostat has published, against an EU average of 517 kg that year.
That is below the average, though countries differ in how much commercial waste they count as municipal, so part of any gap is a counting difference.
Spain's packaging waste by material
Packaging is the part of the pile that extended producer responsibility covers, and the part a company selling into Spain pays for directly.
Spain generated 8.7 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, the newest year on record, 0.8% less than in 2022. That works out at 179 kg per person, level with the EU average of 178 kg, and it was the fourth-largest packaging total in the EU after Germany, Italy and France.
The table below breaks the 2023 total down by material, with the share of each that was recycled.
| Material | Tonnes | Recycled |
|---|---|---|
| Paper and cardboard | 3,293,866 | 79.2% |
| Plastic | 1,836,793 | 46.2% |
| Wood | 1,626,812 | 77.8% |
| Glass | 1,505,560 | 69.8% |
| Metal | 362,643 | 76.5% |
| Other | 39,248 | 0.0% |
Note: Eurostat's packaging waste collection, 2023 reference year, with recycling shares calculated on the basis set for the 2025 targets. The six lines add up to the full total of 8,664,922 tonnes.
Overall Spain recycled 70.5% of its packaging in 2023, above the EU's 67.4% and seventh of the 23 member states with a figure for that year.
Who pays for packaging in Spain?
Producers join a collective scheme, register in the packaging section of the national producer register run by the environment ministry, MITECO, and declare what they placed on the market by 31 March each year.
Household packaging has run through Ecoembes for years, and glass through Ecovidrio. A 2022 royal decree then extended full producer responsibility to commercial and industrial packaging from 2025.
Since 12 August 2026 a company abroad that sells to a Spanish importer is no longer the producer, because its buyer is. A seller abroad shipping straight to end users in Spain registers through an authorised representative based there.
The full set of duties is on the EPR rules for selling into Spain, and the packaging rules in detail on packaging EPR in Spain.
Where Spain's waste ends up
Landfill is where Spain stands furthest from the rest of the EU. In 2024 it sent 47.3% of its municipal waste to landfill, against 21.3% across the EU, recycled 42.5% against the EU's 48.1%, and burned 10.2% for energy against 25.5%.
The EU's landfill rules require that share to fall to 10% or less by 2035. Packaging, measured separately, is closer to its targets. The EU packaging regulation sets them in its Article 52, one wave due by the end of 2025 and one by the end of 2030.
The table sets Spain's 2023 packaging recycling rates against both waves.
| Packaging | By 2025 | By 2030 | Spain |
|---|---|---|---|
| All packaging | 65% | 70% | 70.5% |
| Paper and cardboard | 75% | 85% | 79.2% |
| Glass | 70% | 75% | 69.8% |
| Ferrous metals | 70% | 80% | 97.1% |
| Aluminium | 50% | 60% | 49.9% |
| Wood | 25% | 30% | 77.8% |
| Plastic | 50% | 55% | 46.2% |
Note: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Article 52(1). Spain's rates are Eurostat's, 2023 reference year.
On its 2023 figures Spain had met four of the seven targets set for 2025. Glass and aluminium were 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points short, and plastic 3.8 points short. For 2030, Spain already met three, the overall rate among them, by half a point.
Producers comparing the tools that prepare their Spanish packaging declarations can start with the EPR software built for the Spanish market.
Frequently asked questions about Spain's waste
Below are the eight questions that come up most often about Spain's waste figures.
How much waste does Spain produce each year?
Spain is estimated to produce around 109.7 million tonnes of waste in 2026. The newest measured year, 2022, came to 110.1 million tonnes, the ninth-largest total in the EU, at 2,304 kg per person against an EU average of 4,981 kg.
Can Spain'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 did Spain's recorded waste fall so sharply in 2020?
Most of the fall came from one line. Recorded mining and quarrying waste dropped from 23.6 million tonnes in 2018 to 2.5 million in 2020, while mining output barely changed, and Spain's statistics office says its figures only partly cover mining waste.
How much of Spain's municipal waste goes to landfill?
Spain landfilled 47.3% of its municipal waste in 2024, against 21.3% across the EU. It recycled 42.5% and sent 10.2% to energy recovery. EU rules require the landfilled share to fall to 10% or less by 2035.
How much packaging waste does Spain generate?
Spain generated 8.7 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, or 179 kg per person, level with the EU average. Paper and cardboard was the largest material by weight, followed by plastic and wood.
Does Spain meet the EU packaging recycling targets?
On its 2023 figures Spain met four of the seven targets set for 2025, including the 65% overall rate. Glass and aluminium fell short by 0.2 and 0.1 percentage points, and plastic by 3.8 points at 46.2%.
How is Spain's 2026 waste figure estimated?
It starts from the measured 2022 total and moves only the household part by waste per person and population. Construction and every other sector are held at their 2022 level because their waste has not followed the activity indices, so the range is wide.
Who runs packaging EPR in Spain?
Producers register with the environment ministry, MITECO, and join a collective scheme such as Ecoembes for household packaging or Ecovidrio for glass. Since 2025 commercial and industrial packaging is covered too, and declarations are due by 31 March each year.
Images: Daniel Capilla
