Eurostat: Greece Failing to Keep Pace in Circular Economy

Greece continues to lag significantly behind the rest of the European Union in use rates of materials derived from recycling, according to the latest data released by Eurostat.

The country’s circular material use rate – the share of material used in the economy that comes from recycled waste – was only 5.2% in 2023, compared with the EU average of 11.8%.

In 2024, 12.2% of materials used in the EU came from recycled materials. Compared with 2023, the circularity rate increased by 0.1 percentage points (PP), however, it is the highest share on record so far. Compared with 2015, the rate is 1.0 pp higher.

Although Greece has made modest gains in the use rates of materials derived from recycling since 2015, data shows a decline over 2021, when the cyclical use rate rose to 5.3% and in 2022 to 6.3% (the highest in 10 years). It dropped to 5.2% in the following two years.

This underperformance is particularly striking given increased investments in recycling infrastructure and separate packaging collection programs in recent years. Despite these efforts, Greece remains far from the EU target of 23.2% by 2030 based on the circular economy action plan.

By contrast, some EU member states are making far greater strides. In 2024, the Netherlands recorded the highest circularity rate at 32.7%, followed by Belgium (22.7%), and Italy (21.6%).
At the lower end, Romania stood at 1.3%, while Ireland and Finland were at 2.0%, and Portugal at 3.0%.

Between 2015 and 2024, 21 EU countries saw increases in their circularity rates. The biggest gains were recorded in Malta (+14.0 pp), Estonia (+9.1 pp), the Czech Republic (+7.9 pp), Slovakia (+7.2 pp), and the Netherlands (+5.3 pp.). Declines were seen in six EU states, including Poland (-4.2 pp) and Finland (-3.2 pp).

Experts warn that Greece must accelerate its circular economy transition by improving separate collection systems, modernizing recycling facilities, and enforcing stronger producer-responsibility schemes.

Source: tovima.com