Textile waste generation per person in the EU per year

In 2022, the EU27 generated an estimated 6.94 million tonnes of textile waste, equivalent to approximately 16 kilograms per person. Overall, the total amount of textile waste generation has remained quite stable since 2016. Post-consumer textile waste coming from household sources, which is textile waste that has been disposed of after consumption and use by the citizen (excluding textiles for reuse), is the main source of textile waste generation (ETC CE, 2024). 

Within the total amount of textile waste generated, the amount of textiles and shoes that are not separately collected (11.1 kg per person in 2022), is more than twice of what is reported to be separately collected from households and all economic activities (4.6 kg per person in 2022). Textiles that are not separately collected end up in mixed household waste, where they are processed as residual waste. This waste typically goes to landfills or incineration, representing a missed opportunity for reuse and recycling.

The amounts of textile waste in mixed municipal waste from household sources are estimations based on waste composition analyses (WCAs) provided by the EU Member States (ETC CE, 2024). As there is no harmonised method for the WCA throughout Europe, caution should be taken when interpreting these numbers.

It is expected that the share of separately collected textile waste within the total amount of generated textile waste will increase in the coming years. Currently, only about half of EU Member States have separate textile waste collection in place (EEA, 2024), but as of 1 January 2025, separate collection of textile waste will become mandatory across the EU (EU, 2018). Additionally, most separate collection systems in place today mainly focus on capturing reusable textiles. In some Member States, the collection of used textiles is not considered as waste collection and therefore these textiles are not reported as waste (EEA, 2024). With the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, these amounts will have to be reported, which will also result in an increase in the amount of separately collected textiles.