Which country has the best waste management system?

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Sensoneo’s Global Waste Index 2025 compares how 38 OECD countries handle municipal waste across four routes: recycling, incineration, landfill, and total waste generated per person. The 2025 edition gives more weight to low waste generation and higher recycling, so rankings signal progress on prevention, not just treatment.

Key Takeaways

• Method update: Countries are scored by kilograms per capita for recycling, incineration, landfill, and waste generated. The new weighting favors less waste and more recycling.
• Biggest polluters: Israel, Chile, the United States, Greece, and Canada rank as top polluters. Israel landfills about 524 kg per person, roughly 80% of its 650 kg total.
• United States trend: US waste rose from 811 to 951 kg per person, the highest in the OECD. Of that, 447 kg goes to landfill. Canada landfills 486 kg of 684 kg generated.
• Leaders: Japan moved to first place due to low waste generation and landfilling. South Korea is second with a 54% recycling rate, and Estonia joins the top three. Germany, Austria, Sweden, and Finland also score well.
• Production shifts: Belgium and Austria saw per-capita waste jump by 200+ kg. Austria still lifted recycling to 334 kg per person, about 42%. New Zealand cut landfilling by 423 kg per person. The UK cut incineration by about 74%, from 190 kg to 50 kg.
• DRS effect: Countries with deposit return schemes perform best, including Estonia, Germany, Finland, Sweden, and Norway. New DRS launches: Romania 2023, Ireland and Hungary 2024, Austria 2025. Countries without DRS, such as Turkey, Chile, Greece, and Mexico, lag.

Conclusion
The index points to a clear playbook: make less waste and recycle more, while pushing down landfill. Deposit return schemes correlate with better results and are spreading.
Governments and industry should expand DRS, cap landfill, and track per-capita waste as the core metric. Watch Austria, Ireland, Hungary, and Romania over the next two years to see how new DRS rollouts shift performance.

Sensoneo recently published its Global Waste Index 2025, comparing waste management across the 38 member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD). In this edition of The Brief, we outline the main findings of the report including the biggest global waste polluters, waste production trends and the impact of DRS schemes.

Key takeaways:

• The 38 countries were all scored according to the kilograms of waste they process using each method - recycling, incineration, landfill, and waste generated per capita. 
• Israel and Chile emerged as the two largest waste polluters in the world.
• The United States increased its output from 811 to 951 kilograms per capita, remaining the country that generates the most municipal solid waste.
• The UK managed to decrease its incineration rate by approximately 74%, from 190 kg to 50 kg.
• Estonia joined the top three countries with the best waste management practices, alongside Japan and South Korea.

The biggest worldwide waste polluters

Sensoneo identifies the five top waste polluters as Israel with 650 kg waste generated (per capita per year); Chile with 437 kg; the United States with 951 kg; Greece with 519 kg and Canada 694 kg. Out of Israel’s 650kg of municipal waste, 524 kg is landfilled, representing 80% of the country’s total waste – said to be the highest landfill share among all analyzed nations. Consistent with data from 2019 and 2022, Chile and the United States continue to rank among the world’s most significant waste polluters.

On the other hand, the company reports that Japan moved into first place from seventh in 2022, due to low rates of waste generation and landfilling. South Korea secured second place with a 54% recycling rate, the highest among all nations. Positive rankings were also achieved by Germany and Austria and Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Finland.

Sensoneo notes that when it comes to American waste management, the United States sends 447 kg of its 951 kg of waste per capita to landfills, while Canada has an even higher proportion: 486 kg out of 684 kg of all generated waste ends up in landfills.

Waste production trends

In waste production, Belgium and Austria recorded the largest increases in per capita waste generation, both rising by more than 200 kilograms over the observed period. Despite this growth, Austria still achieved the highest increase in recycling with a total of 334 kilograms per capita (representing 42% of its generated waste) even before the introduction of a national deposit return scheme.

Sensoneo states that New Zealand achieved a ”remarkable” reduction in landfilling over the past few years, decreasing the amount of waste sent to landfill by 423 kilograms per capita per year. At the same time, Belgium and Lithuania increased their use of waste-to-energy incineration by over 100 kilograms per person within few years. Hungary, the United States, and Israel recorded a notable rise in landfilling rates.

The positive impact of DRS

The Index notes that countries with an established DRS in place rank among the highest in overall waste management performance. Nations such as Estonia, Germany, Finland, Sweden, and Norway consistently achieve high scores. On the other end of the spectrum are countries like Turkey, Chile, Greece, and Mexico, where no DRS is currently in place.

Sensoneo adds that since the 2022 Global Waste Index, new countries from the ranking have introduced Deposit Refund Systems: Romania in 2023, Ireland and Hungary in 2024, and Austria in 2025. All of these countries are using an IT system for DRS powered by Sensoneo.

Incineration and landfill

The company states that incineration has emerged as a “viable and efficient” waste management method, particularly for materials that cannot be easily recycled. This process involves the controlled burning of waste at high temperatures, which Sensoneo claims “significantly reduces waste volume by up to 90%” and minimizes the need for landfills.

Sensoneo concludes the Index by emphasizing:

“The Global Waste Index serves as an indicator of the world’s largest waste producers and a good score in the index does not necessarily mean that a country’s waste management practices are optimal or do not require improvement. The overarching goal must be to generate as little waste as possible.”

The company explains that this is in why, in this year’s index, it has adjusted the weighting of the factors and placed greater importance on smaller waste generation and higher recycling rates. It adds that to ensure waste is managed as efficiently as possible, it is essential that companies, public entities and individuals take responsibility and contribute their part.

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