The businesses in Belgium and households produced 68 million tonnes of waste in 2022, according to the statistics published on August 18. The annual waste produced roughly the same amount.
The rise in waste production was most noticeable in the following sectors:
- Agriculture which was increased by 15 percent
- Households increased by 9 percent
- Industry increased by 7 percent
There was a largely offset by decreases in the service, which has been reported at 21 percent and construction sectors at 9 percent, which were heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Along with this, the amount of waste that has been produced in Belgium has increased by 28 percent, as the share from construction has jumped by more than 87 percent, as well as the industry by 43 percent. The amount of household waste has remained largely unchanged, increasing just 0.1 percent since 2004. Meanwhile, its share of total waste decreased from 12.2 percent to 6.5 percent.
Moreover, the impact of recycling and environmental materials methods can be seen in the composition of Belgian waste. While plastic once accounted for 2.5 percent of all Belgian waste, 18 years later, they now account for just 1.5 percent. Belgium now produces almost half the chemical waste as it did in 2004.
Other types are currently more represented. Glass once accounted for 1 percent of Belgian waste, as well as now accounts for 2.5 percent. Wood once accounted for 3.9 percent and now accounts for 6.1 percent.
Furthermore, the majority of the waste that is produced in Belgium does not stay within the nation. In the previous year, the export of waste from the European Union to the other non-EU countries reached all-time highs: about 33 million tonnes were exported, up 77 percent since 2004.
