The Dutch threw away 48 kilograms less waste per household in 2022 than the year before, according to Dutch statistics bureau CBS, bringing the average amount of waste per household to 455 kilograms last year.

Most of the eight billion kilograms of waste collected across the country in 2022 was residual waste (waste that cannot be separated), followed by vegetable, fruit and garden waste (GFT).

The amount of all types of waste decreased in 2022, especially residual waste. The Wadden island of Ameland had the most household waste while Nederweert, close to the German border, had the least.

The most residual waste was collected on the Wadden Islands, which the CBS chalks up to tourism.

Paper waste has also been decreasing since 2010, largely due to digitisation. In 2022, 43 kilograms of paper and cardboard were collected per inhabitant, five kilograms less than in 2021.

During the corona pandemic the decline temporarily stopped as people ordered more online and threw away cardboard packaging.

The amount of rubble, soil and wood waste also decreased in 2022—down to 55 kilograms per inhabitant from 64 in 2021. This is also a corona knock-on effect, with more household renovations taking place in 2020 and 2021, leading to more waste.