Figures published by Eurostat placed Luxembourg and its 791 kilos of waste per person, behind Denmark, which threw out the equivalent of 844 kilos per person.

Among its neighbours, Germany was the next biggest collector of municipal waste (609 kilos), followed by France (548) and Belgium (415). Romania collected the smallest volume of municipal waste at 280 kilos.

Recycling rates

Across the EU, the rate of recycled and composted waste tripled from 37 million tonnes (87 kilos per person) in 1995 to 107 million in 2019 (239 kilos per person).

At the same time, the volume of incinerated waste doubled from 30 million tonnes to 60 million over the same period.

The amount of landfill waste, meanwhile, halved, from 121 million tonnes to 54 million.

As part of its current strategy, Luxembourg has set itself the target of ending municipal landfill waste by 2030, through waste prevention and reuse measures.