Waste indicators on generation and landfilling: Measuring sustainable development 2004-2010

Every two year since 2004, Eurostat has collected comprehensive data on waste generation and treatment under Regulation 2002/2150/EC on waste statistics (WStatR). This article presents two WStatR-based indicators: the sustainable development indicator 'generation of waste excluding major mineral wastes’ (tsdpc210) and the new indicator ‘landfilling of waste excluding major mineral wastes’, intended to become part of the new set of resource efficiency indicators. Whereas waste generation, excluding major mineral wastes, has remained rather stable since 2004, the data reveal a steady and clear downward trend in the generation of ‘household and similar wastes’. The landfill indicator illustrates the considerable differences between the achievements of EU Member States with regard to the diversion of waste from landfills.