How Much Waste is Generated in Russia: Statistics by Year and Industry
In 2025, Russia generated 7,841,150 thousand tons of production and consumption waste, which is 7.84 billion tons. A total of 1,882,592 thousand tons was recycled and neutralized, representing 24.0% of the generated amount. In 2016, the recycling rate was 59.6%. There are about 53.7 tons of waste per capita per year, and mining accounts for 91% of the total volume. Rosstat data.
Below are the annual series, an analysis of why household waste is almost invisible in these figures, the industry structure, and interactive charts.
Generation and Recycling of Waste by Year
Thousand tons.
| Year | Generated | Recycled | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5,441,314 | 3,243,706 | 59.6% |
| 2017 | 6,220,639 | 3,264,551 | 52.5% |
| 2018 | 7,266,054 | 3,818,363 | 52.6% |
| 2019 | 7,750,877 | 3,881,872 | 50.1% |
| 2020 | 6,955,717 | 3,429,014 | 49.3% |
| 2021 | 8,448,643 | 3,937,239 | 46.6% |
| 2022 | 9,017,264 | 4,125,205 | 45.7% |
| 2023 | 9,278,838 | 3,960,916 | 42.7% |
| 2024 | 8,514,681 | 3,079,928 | 36.2% |
| 2025 | 7,841,150 | 1,882,592 | 24.0% |
Generation volume grew 1.44 times over nine years, peaking in 2023 at 9.28 billion tons. The series has been declining for the last two years. The full dataset by economic activity is available in the interactive dataset.
The recycling rate has been falling for seven consecutive years
The most notable aspect of this statistic is not the growth in waste generation, but the behavior of the second row.
Recycling held steady at around 3.2–4.1 billion tons for seven consecutive years, and then plunged to 3.08 and 1.88 billion in 2024 and 2025. That is a 52% drop in two years. The share of recycled waste out of the total generated fell from 42.7% to 24.0%.
Almost all of this dynamic is concentrated in a single row. The coal industry recycled 2.61 billion tons in 2023, 2.08 billion in 2024, and 0.97 billion in 2025. Waste generation in coal mining over the same years fell much less significantly: from 6.02 to 4.33 billion tons.
Rosstat usually refines data for the most recent year in subsequent releases, so the 2025 figure should be read as preliminary. But even allowing for a possible revision, the trend since 2016 has been unidirectional: more waste is generated, and a smaller share is recycled.
Why the figures are so huge
53.7 tonnes of waste per person per year looks absurd until you look at the structure. For 2025:
- mining and quarrying: 7,153,099 thousand tonnes (91.2%)
- including mining of coal: 4,327,088 thousand tonnes (55.2%)
- including mining of metal ores: 2,620,632 thousand tonnes (33.4%)
- manufacturing: 441,657 thousand tonnes (5.6%)
- manufacture of basic metals: 204,362 thousand tonnes
- manufacture of chemicals and chemical products: 182,313 thousand tonnes
- water supply and waste management: 12,776 thousand tonnes
- agriculture and forestry: 13,875 thousand tonnes
The bulk of this consists of overburden and host rock, i.e., the soil that is removed to reach a coal seam or ore body. Formally, this is Class V hazard waste; practically, it is displaced earth. Household waste accounts for fractions of a percent of the total Russian volume and is recorded separately as municipal solid waste.
Hence a practical conclusion when reading the news: the figure "Russia generates eight billion tonnes of waste" and any figure about household waste describe different things. The former is almost entirely about rock, the latter is about the contents of trash bins, and adding them together is meaningless.
What is growing the fastest
Waste from the mining of metal ores grew from 957,557 thousand tonnes in 2016 to 2,620,632 in 2025, i.e., by 2.7 times. This is the fastest growth among the major items. The manufacture of chemicals and chemical products increased from 14,158 to 182,313 thousand tonnes.
Agriculture and forestry are declining (from 49,242 to 13,875 thousand tonnes), as is the manufacture of food products (from 21,055 to 10,530).
Data on recovery for each economic activity can be found in a separate dataset.
Questions and Answers
How much waste does Russia generate per year?
Production and consumption waste amounted to 7.84 billion tons in 2025. Of this, more than 90% is accounted for by waste rock from mining operations, rather than household waste.
What share of waste is recycled?
24.0% of the generated volume was utilized or neutralized in 2025. In 2016, the share was 59.6%.
Which industry generates the most waste?
Coal mining: 4.33 billion tons, or 55% of the country's total volume. Mining of metal ores is in second place with 2.62 billion tons.
Are municipal solid waste included here?
Formally, they are included in the total volume, but their mass is almost imperceptible against the background of waste rock. For MSW, Rosstat maintains separate records in the housing conditions section.
Why has the volume of generation been falling since 2023?
Coal mining is declining, and with it, the volume of overburden. Mining waste moves almost proportionally following extraction.
In Brief
Russia generates 7.84 billion tons of waste per year, and 91% of this volume comes from mining, primarily coal. The peak was in 2023, and since then the volume has been declining along with extraction. At the same time, the share of utilization has been declining almost continuously: from 59.6% in 2016 to 24.0% in 2025, with the decline accelerating sharply in the last two years. Household waste accounts for fractions of a percent in these statistics, and any comparisons with European recycling rates require switching to separate accounting of municipal waste.