
In Austria, according to the Global Waste Index 2025, 803 kilograms of waste per capita were generated. That was more than 200 kilograms more than in the 2022 report. Nevertheless, the country climbed in the ranking from 17th place (2022) to 5th. Austria also achieved the highest increase in recycling, Sensoneo reported in a statement on World Environment Day on Thursday. The company evaluated the efficiency of waste management in the 38 OECD countries for the index.
Top Ranking Positions
Japan, South Korea, and Estonia occupy the podium positions in the ranking. Israel, Chile, and the USA form the bottom of the Global Waste Index 2025. Austria took the gold medal when it comes to recycling municipal waste: 334 kilograms of waste per capita were recycled here, even before the introduction of the national deposit system. That corresponds to 42 percent of the waste generated.
Landfills Particularly Harmful
In Israel, 524 kg of the 650 kg of waste generated were landfilled in a particularly harmful way, the statement said. That was the highest value among all analyzed countries. The United States increased its waste quantity from 811 to 951 kilograms per capita and thus remains the country with the highest generation of municipal waste. From an ecological perspective, waste incineration is preferable to landfilling. Nevertheless, in twelve of the 38 countries, more than half of the waste generated is still landfilled—including countries such as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. According to the statement, Switzerland is the only country that landfills no waste at all.