Waste generation and treatment by sector, 1990-2018

The amount of waste generated in 2018 was 61 million tons (excluding contaminated soil, dredged spoils and animal manure). Nearly 93% of the waste generated was recovered; less and less waste is being sent to landfill.

Target group Method1) 1990 2000 2010 2017 2018
             
    million kg2        
             
TOTAL Total 50 920 63 242 60 906 61 378 61 169
  recovery 31 355 50 925 53 842 57 286 56 736
  incineration 3 885 7 083 5 240 2 290 2 131
  landfill 13 875 4 832 1 310 1 208 1 538
  discharge/other3, 4) 1 805 402 514 594 765
             
Households total 6 195 8 650 8 823 8 325 8 362
  recovery 985 3 875 6 954 8 261 8 203
  incineration 1 925 3 485 1 753 22 30
  landfill 3 285 1 290 72 43 80
  discharge 0 0 43 41 50
             
Traffic and transport total 1 285 853 1 076 1 105 1 118
  recovery 1 060 788 694 580 614
  incineration 70 22 260 350 229
  landfill 155 43 25 4 5
  discharge 0 0 98 172 271
             
Agriculture, forestry total 2 340 2 497 2 561 2 388 2 356
and fisheries recovery 1 960 2 445 2 549 2349 2 304
  incineration 75 43 3 1 0
  landfill 305 9 6 12 15
  discharge 0 0 3 26 36
             
Industry total 19 990 19 312 15 290 15 437 15 091
(incl. refineries)5) recovery 13 880 16 464 13 551 14 185 13 854
  incineration 645 1 400 1 103 681 650
  landfill 3 660 1 046 510 417 400
  discharge 1 805 402 127 154 187
             
Trade, services and total 3 990 4 894 5 376 5 681 5 788
government recovery 740 2 726 4 217 5 317 5 375
  incineration 900 852 866 51 47
  landfill 2 350 1 316 182 153 187
  discharge 0 0 110 159 180
             
Construction total 12 690 23 800 24 528 24 669 25 122
  recovery 9 315 22 720 23 986 24 236 24 477
  incineration 165 210 64 21 25
  landfill 3 200 870 455 399 610
  discharge 0 0 22 13 11
             
Energy supply total 1 390 1 674 1 497 2 037 1 625
  recovery 1 280 1 566 1 343 1 928 1 523
  incineration 25 5 22 10 5
  landfill 85 103 127 93 89
  discharge/other 0 0 5 6 8
             
Waste water treatment total 2 920 1 426 1 494 1 324 1 302
plants6) recovery 2 075 206 315 128 54
  incineration 80 1 066 1 162 1 122 1 111
  landfill 770 155 17 74 138
  discharge/other 0 0 1 0 0
             
Drinking water total 125 135 176 276 272
supply6) recovery 60 135 167 268 261
  incineration 0 0 2 1 2
  landfill 65 0 7 6 9
  discharge/other 0 0 0 0 0
             
Waste disposal total . . 56 136 130
  recovery . . 42 79 71
  incineration . . 4 28 32
  landfill . . 1 5 6
  discharge/other . . 10 24 21
             
Source: Rijkswaterstaat, CBS       CBS/okt20/0206
1) Treatment methods were redefined with the coming into force of the National Waste Management Plan (Landelijk afvalbeheerplan, LAP) and the Environmental Management Act (Wet milieubeheer). 'Recovery' therefore now includes preparation for re-use, recycling, use as fuel and other applications. 2) Excluding contaminated soil, dredged materials and animal manure. 3) The disposal of phosphogypsum was reported as discharge and the discharge of liquid waste streams (after treatment) was reported as recovery up to and including the year 2000. As of 2001, the discharge of liquid waste streams (after treatment) is reported separately as discharge. No phosphogypsum has been discharged since 2001. 4) As of 2003, discharge also includes 'liquid loss' during the drying of liquid waste streams prior to disposal. 5) As of 2004, the use of industrial waste as a fuel for energy generation falls under recovery and no longer under incineration. 6) Waste water treatment plants and the drinking water supply together make up the target group 'Actors in the water chain'.

Changes in amount of waste generated

The way in which waste generation and treatment is monitored has changed. Where possible, these changes were implemented from 2006, but some only took effect in 2007 or 2008. The total amount of waste generated is approximately 60 billion kg. About 40% of the waste is generated by the construction sector

Less waste being sent to landfill and more recovered

There has been a considerable decrease in the amount of waste sent to landfill since 1990 (from almost 14 billion kg, to 1.5 billion kg in 2018). By contrast, there has been an increase of almost 25 billion kg in the amount of waste recovered. Almost 56 billion kg was recovered in 2016, nearly 94% of the total amount of waste generated in the Netherlands (excluding contaminated soil, dredged materials and animal manure).

Sources

Technical explanation

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Archive of this indicator

Reference of this webpage

CBS, PBL, RIVM, WUR (2024). Waste generation and treatment by sector, 1990-2018 (indicator 0206, version 15,

) www.clo.nl. Statistics Netherlands (CBS), The Hague; PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague; RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven; and Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen.