Gabriella Aragona
The indicator measures the quantities of Waste from Economic Activities exported for recovery and disposal. In 2024, the total amount of Waste from Economic Activities exported was approximately 5.1 million tonnes, of which 3.3 million tonnes consisted of non-hazardous waste (65.9% of the total) and 1.7 million tonnes of hazardous waste (34.1% of the total). The largest quantities of waste were exported to Germany and Austria, amounting to approximately 1.1 million tonnes and 714 thousand tonnes, respectively.
The indicator measures the quantities of Waste from Economic Activities that are intended abroad for the purposes of recovery and disposal, specifying the countries of destination and the type of refusal.
Analyze which types of waste are destined abroad for the purposes of recovery and disposal.
• Basel Convention of 22/03/1989 on the control of cross-border movements of hazardous waste and their disposal and subsequent amendments;
• OCSE C decision (2001) 107 on the control of cross-border movements of waste intended for recovery;
• Regulation 1013/2006/EC and S. M. I. Governing the shipment of waste between community member states, also through third countries;
• Regulation 1418/2007/EC and S. M. I. Relating to the export of some waste intended for the recovery, to some countries to which the OECD decision does not apply.
There are no specific targets set by the regulations.
ISPRA - Rapporto Rifiuti Speciali 2026
ISPRA
ISPRA, MUD database, not accessible to the public
National, regional
2010-2024
Quantity of exported waste from economic activities (tons)
The quantities are analyzed for single EER code (European waste list), by region of origin and by country of destination.
The total amount of Waste from Economic Activities exported in 2024 was 5.1 million tonnes, of which 65.9% consisted of non-hazardous waste and the remaining 34.1% of hazardous waste, representing a 7.8% decrease compared with 2023 (Table 1). When compared with the total amount of Waste from Economic Activities generated (approximately 172.1 million tonnes), exports accounted for a relatively small share of only 2.9%. By contrast, hazardous Waste from Economic Activities exported as a proportion of the total hazardous waste generated (10.8 million tonnes) accounted for 16%.
Over the 2010–2024 period, the total amount of Waste from Economic Activities exported increased by 33.1% (Table 1), while waste generation increased by 25.5%. The share of exported Waste from Economic Activities relative to the total amount generated was 2.8% in 2010 and 2.9% in 2024. Given the limited variation observed over the period, the trend can be considered stable.
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Table 1: Waste from Economic Activities Exported from Italy Fonte
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Table 2: Waste from Economic Activities exported by country of destination (2024) Fonte
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Table 3: Waste from Economic Activities exported by region of origin, 2024 Fonte
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Figure 1: Waste from Economic Activities exported by country of destination, 2024 Fonte
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Figure 2: Non-hazardous Waste from Economic Activities exported by European Waste Catalogue chapter (2024) Fonte
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Figure 3: Hazardous Waste from Economic Activities exported by European Waste Catalogue chapter (2024) Fonte
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The total amount of Waste from Economic Activities exported in 2024 was 5.1 million tonnes (Table 1). As shown in Table 2 and Figure 1, the largest quantities of waste were exported to Germany and Austria. Approximately 1.1 million tonnes of Waste from Economic Activities were exported to Germany (21.6% of total exports), consisting predominantly of hazardous waste (722 thousand tonnes). Approximately 714 thousand tonnes of waste were exported to Austria, of which more than 215 thousand tonnes were hazardous.
Lombardy exported the largest quantity of Waste from Economic Activities, amounting to over 1.6 million tonnes, of which 51.9% was hazardous waste. Veneto ranked second, with 672 thousand tonnes, of which 75% was non-hazardous waste (Table 3).
As shown in Figure 2, the largest category exported, accounting for 74.3% of total non-hazardous waste exports, was “waste from waste management facilities”, followed by “waste from thermal processes” (9.1%) and “construction and demolition waste” (4.1%); the latter consisted almost entirely of metallic waste. With regard to hazardous waste exports, 50.8% consisted of “waste from waste management facilities”, 37.4% of “construction and demolition waste”, and 5.9% of “waste not otherwise specified in the list” (Figure 3).