Material Flows in Austria in the year 2023 in 1 000 tons
With the European Green Deal (2019), the European Union aims to transform Europe into a competitive, resource-efficient, and climate-neutral economy by 2050. A key pillar of this strategy is the promotion of a circular economy. Austria supports this transformation: The national Circular Economy Strategy , published in 2022, aligns with European objectives and is closely linked to related EU initiatives.
At its core, the circular economy aims to preserve the value of products, materials, and resources for as long as possible. Existing materials and products are kept in use for as long as feasible—through sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling. This extends product life cycles and reduces waste. After their use, materials are fed back into the production cycle wherever possible.
Material flows through the Austrian economy are visualized in a material flow diagram, which also illustrates the ratio of the circular use of materials to the overall material consumption of the economy. These data serve as the basis for calculating the Circular Material Use Rate. The EU Circular Economy Action Plan (2020) and the 8th Environmental Action Programme, both set the goal of doubling the EU’s circular material use rate by 2030 compared to 2020. Austria aims to increase its circular material use rate to 18 percent by 2030, as outlined in its national strategy.
According to preliminary results, Austria’s circular material use rate was 13.8 % in 2023. This means that 13.8 % of the total material consumption (domestic material consumption plus recycling, accounting for waste imports and exports) was covered through recycling. The result should be considered preliminary, as the data on waste treatment for 2023 were estimated based on the 2022 waste statistics and will be revised once more recent data become available.
For further information, see the German version.