AMB | Metropolitan Area of Barcelona’s waste generation and recycling efforts in 2023

In 2023, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) generated 1.49 million tonnes of waste, equivalent to 444.3 kg per person, a slight decrease compared to the previous year. However, waste production is still expected to fall short of the EU’s goal of reducing it by 15% by 2025. Selective waste collection reached 40% in 2023, a record but only a modest 0.7% increase from 2022. Municipalities that have adopted new collection systems, such as door-to-door or closed containers, exceed this target by up to 79% collection rates, highlighting the effectiveness of these methods. In terms of waste treatment, 42.1% of the collected waste was sent for recycling, and 26.7% was energy recovered. However, 26% ended up in landfills. Notably, the collection of organic waste is key to improving recycling rates, but in 2023, only 35.1% of organic waste was separated for recycling.