Dutch local authorities collected the equivalent of 456 kilos of rubbish per person last year, a slight drop on 2022, according to national statistics agency CBS. The total amount of domestic waste rose 0.5% to over 8 billion kilos because of population growth.

There was a clear increase in the weight of organic waste collected, from 89 to 91 kilos per person. This, says the CBS, is not down to an increase in healthy eating, but a rise in garden waste produced in 2023, which was wetter and better for plant growth.

Local councils collected less glass per person but the total was up by four million kilos to 254 million kilos. Most glass – 24 kilos per person – was collected in Limburg, followed by Zeeland and Noord-Brabant. In Flevoland and Zuid-Holland just 16 kilos of glass per person was collected for recycling.

It is up to local authorities how to collect waste and what to recycle. In most of Amsterdam, for example, fruit and veg waste is not collected separately.

Figures published by the CBS in 2022 show that rural areas have much better recycling rates than cities.