In 2020, the circularity rate – the percentage of resources used in production processes that come from recycled or recovered materials – reached 12.8% in the European Union, according to data from the statistical office Eurostat. This rate is 0.8 points higher than a year earlier and 4.5 points higher than in 2004, the first year in which it was counted, as part of the EU’s monitoring policies on the circular economy.
Spain is slightly below the European average, with 11.2%. In recent years, it has been improving progressively, recovering from the negative trend recorded between 2010 and 20215, a period in which it fell from 10.4% to 7.5%.