Austria's garbage balance 2025: 803 kilos per capita and 5th place in the ranking!

Austria's garbage balance 2025: 803 kilos per capita and 5th place in the ranking!

Austria improved to fifth place in the Global Waste Index 2025 after the country rose from 17th place in the previous year. According to 5min, the Austrians produced 803 kilograms per capita, which is more than 200 kilograms than in 2022. The analysis of the index evaluates the efficiency of waste management in 38 OECD countries and shows that Japan, South Korea and Estonia occupy the first three places.

A crucial factor for the increase in placement is the significant increase in the recycling rate in Austria. In 2025, 334 kilograms of waste were recycled per capita, which corresponds to 42 percent of the total garbage. It is noteworthy that this rate was achieved before the introduction of the national deposit system, which indicates that Austria has made progress in waste management before the implementation of new measures. [Nau] (https://www.nau.ch/news/europa/osterreich-recycelt-2025- Mehr-67000242) emphasizes that Austria takes on a pioneering role across Europe.

international comparisons and waste management

In international comparison, the Global Waste Index 2025 shows that countries such as Israel, Chile and the USA are at the end of the ranking. In Israel, a total of 524 kilograms of generated waste were deposited of 650 kilograms, which is the highest value among the analyzed countries. In contrast, the United States increased its waste amount to 951 kilograms per capita. In twelve out of 38 countries, more than half of their waste, including Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Perspectives for waste management in Austria and the EU remain positive. However, it is crucial to further increase the recycling rates and find innovative ways to use waste more efficiently and avoid landfill. In this regard, Austria has the potential to serve many countries as an example of successful waste management.