The European Union remained a net importer of recyclable raw materials in 2025, according to the latest data from Eurostat. The gap between imports and exports reached 13.5 million tonnes, representing a significant 7.8% increase compared to the previous year. According to the official report by the European statistical office, metals and organic materials continue to dominate trade, while Turkey and Brazil stand out among the main partner countries.
Net Import Trends and Historical Context
According to data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, the EU imported 49.7 million tonnes of recyclable raw materials from non-EU (third) countries in 2025, while exporting 36.2 million tonnes to these destinations. As a result, the difference between the two values—the net import volume—amounted to 13.5 million tonnes.
This 13.5 million tonne gap represents an increase of approximately 1 million tonnes, or 7.8%, compared to the figures recorded in 2024. The database highlights that the EU has been a net importer of recyclable raw materials since the data series began in 2005. Over the past two decades, the lowest net import volume was recorded recently in 2023, when this value was just 1.07 million tonnes.
Despite the notable increase from 2024 to 2025, the report emphasizes that the 2025 gap is still 35.6% lower than the historical maximum. The largest gap between the volume of imports and exports to date was recorded in 2006, when net imports reached 21 million tonnes.
Export Market: Metals and Paper in the Lead
A detailed breakdown of the 2025 export data reveals that metals played the most vital role in the European Union’s exports. The EU exported a total of 18.9 million tonnes of metals, accounting for more than half—specifically 52.1%—of all recyclable raw material exports.
Metals were followed by the paper and cardboard category in second place, with 6.0 million tonnes exported, representing 16.5% of total exports. Organic materials proved to be the third most significant export item at 4.4 million tonnes, accounting for a 12.0% share of the EU’s total export market.
Import Market: Predominance of Organic Materials
Regarding the European Union’s imports, the structural distribution differs significantly from that of exports. In the case of imports, organic materials formed the largest category. In 2025, 30.0 million tonnes of this raw material group arrived in the EU, making up an exceptionally high share of 60.3% of all recyclable raw material imports.
In terms of imports, organic materials were followed by minerals at 8.3 million tonnes, representing a 16.7% share. Metals stood in third place, with 6.3 million tonnes imported by the Union, accounting for 12.7% of total imports.
Distinction Between Waste and By-products
Eurostat’s analysis points out a methodological and market distinction when comparing data on recyclable raw materials and trade in waste. While metals and paper/cardboard are traded almost exclusively as waste, organic materials follow a completely different pattern, consisting primarily of by-products.
The statistics reveal that waste constitutes only a minor fraction of the trade in organic materials. Just 1.8% of exported organic materials and only 3.2% of imported organic materials are classified as waste. A significant portion of organic materials (products originating from animal and vegetable sources, such as forestry or food preparation wastes, fats, etc.) are processed into oils. These oils are widely used in applications ranging from machinery lubrication to the production of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, soaps, and chemicals.
Main Trade Partners: Türkiye and Brazil
During 2025, Türkiye was the top destination for EU exports of recyclable raw materials, with a volume of 12.8 million tonnes. The second most important export market was India with 3.9 million tonnes, followed by the United Kingdom (3.4 million tonnes) and Egypt (1.9 million tonnes), while Norway and Switzerland also made the list with an export volume of 1.5 million tonnes each.
The EU’s imports of recyclable raw materials in 2025 predominantly originated from Brazil, from where 11.2 million tonnes arrived. The second main source of imports was Argentina with 8.7 million tonnes. They were followed by the United Kingdom with 4.4 million tonnes, Ukraine with 4.0 million tonnes, and finally the United States, from where 2.4 million tonnes of raw materials were imported.
Methodological Background
The scope of “recyclable raw materials” includes the recyclable part of waste and scrap, as well as other secondary raw materials (by-products) that are re-injected into the economy. These are measured in terms of the relevant product codes from the Combined Nomenclature (CN) used in international trade in goods statistics. It is important to highlight that trade in waste data is based on a separate dataset, which includes both recyclable and non-recyclable waste but excludes by-products.
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