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The European Union aims to double recycled material use, in terms of its share of the economy's total material use, between 2020 and 2030, as set in the 2020 circular economy action plan. Increasing the use of secondary materials would reduce the extraction of primary raw materials and related environmental impacts. Recycled material accounted for 11.8% of material used in 2023, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from 2010. This slow progress, along with projected increased material demand by 2030, implies that the EU is not currently on track to double the circular material use rate by 2030.
Figure 1. Circular material use rate in the EU and breakdown by material group between 2010 and 2023
The EU’s circular economy action plan aims to reduce pressure on natural resources and double its circular material use rate (CMUR) in the coming decade. The CMUR measures the circularity of materials in the economy and refers to the share of the total amount of material used in the economy that is accounted for by recycled waste.
Increasing the CMUR (by increasing the amount of recycled waste or decreasing the amount of material used) would reduce the amount of primary material extracted for production and the associated negative impacts on the environment and climate. A reduction in the EU’s reliance on primary resources, particularly imported materials, would increase its strategic autonomy. This way, the EU would increase its ability to meet its own needs, without relying on third countries.
Although the EU’s CMUR has increased slightly in the the last 13 years, from 10.7% in 2010 to 11.8% in 2023, it is still considered low, indicating the economy is mostly linear. This trend is mainly due to increases in waste recycling efforts, driven by Member States to meet EU recycling targets. Meanwhile, domestic material consumption has remained stable.
Non-metallic minerals account for more than 50% of total material consumption and their CMUR has decreased since 2010. The CMURs increased for biomass, metals and fossil-based materials between 2010 and 2023. The CMURs for the various material groups differ significantly with almost 25% for metal ores in 2023 and only slightly above 3% for fossil materials. This reflects the different natures of materials and their use. Metals are technically easier and more economical to recycle, feeding back into the economy. Fossil fuels are mostly burned and thus cannot be recycled.
Circular economy strategies aim to retain the value and extend the life of products. They can reduce resource consumption and hence reduce impacts on the environment and climate. Meeting the target of doubling the CMUR would mean an increase from 11.8% (2023) to 23.2% by 2030. This requires the average CMUR annual growth rate to be 60 times higher by 2030 compared to the current rate. Therefore, the EU is not on track to double the CMUR by 2030, also considering OECD projections of increased future materials demand. The latter is important as increasing recycling alone will not allow the EU to achieve the target.
Increased recycling coupled with reduced material use is required. Reducing the use of heavier material groups like non-metallic minerals and metals has a greater potential for increasing the CMUR. Since material extraction has different environmental impacts, measures should also focus on reducing the consumption of fossil energy materials and increasing the sustainability of biomass production in view of reducing environmental pressures.
Figure 2. Circular material use rate by EU country
Considerable differences in CMURs are observed among countries, ranging from 30.6% (in the Netherlands) to 1.3% (in Romania) in 2023. This reflects significant structural difference in countries’ recycling capacities and in their levels of material consumption. In the Netherlands and Italy, more than 20% (one of five tonnes) of material used was recycled material. The CMUR level for the Netherlands is already much higher (by more than seven percentage points) than the EU target for 2030, suggesting that rates are achievable.
Most EU countries (22 out of 27) have increased their CMURs since 2010. The largest absolute CMUR increases (more than five percentage points) were seen in Malta, Italy, Estonia, Austria, Czechia, Belgium and Slovakia. Some countries show impressive relative increases in their CMURs, with Latvia, Croatia and Matla more than tripling their CMURs between 2010 and 2023, although from a very low base. However, significant decreases in CMURs were seen in Finland, Romania, Luxembourg and Poland.