The 2021 waste balance for North Rhine‑Westphalia, compiled by the Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz, presents a detailed quantitative picture of municipal solid waste, separated waste streams, and electronic waste collected across the state. In total, 8.8 million tonnes of household waste were handed over to public‑sector waste carriers in 2021. More than half of this mass consists of separately collected bio‑and green waste and valuable fractions. Bio‑and green waste accounts for 25 % of the total, paper, cardboard and cartons (PPK) for 13 %, light‑weight packaging (LVP) and glass together for 11 %, while household and bulky waste make up 47 %. Hazardous waste from municipal collections is less than 1 % of the overall figure. These proportions are derived from the “Erhebung über Haushaltsabfälle” under the German Environmental Statistics Act (UStatG) and are cross‑checked with data supplied by the statistical offices of the individual districts and the federal statistical office (Destatis).

Electronic waste data are supplied by the Stiftung elektro‑altgeräte register (ear). In 2021, 111 710 tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment were accepted at municipal collection points in North Rhine‑Westphalia, which translates to about 6.23 kg per inhabitant. Of this amount, 79 051 tonnes were delivered by manufacturers or their representatives to designated collection sites for direct handover, a process coordinated by ear. The remaining 30 % (32 658 tonnes) were opt‑out devices that were exempt from manufacturer handover under § 14 Abs. 5 of the ElektroG; these were retained by the public‑sector carriers for reuse or treatment. The report lists the opt‑out and handover volumes by each district and city, showing significant variation across the state, with the largest single city, Cologne, contributing 5 969 tonnes of opt‑out devices.

Infrastructure waste is largely composed of market waste, street sweepings, and sewer cleaning residues, while commercial waste includes health‑care facilities, construction and demolition debris, and a broad range of other industrial by‑products. The commercial waste catalogue contains roughly 120 distinct waste types, with 42 types exceeding 500 tonnes each, together representing more than 95 % of the commercial waste volume. Thermal treatment residues, mainly slag from municipal solid‑waste incineration, and mechanical treatment residues are also recorded.

The technical results are supported by a comprehensive set of tables and figures. Table 34, for example, details the opt‑out and handover volumes for each district, while Figure 4 illustrates the composition of household waste across the state. The report’s methodology follows the UStatG framework, treating the data as secondary statistics derived from the state waste balances and forwarded to the federal statistical office for national aggregation.

Collaboration underpins the entire reporting effort. The ear provides the electronic waste data and coordinates manufacturer handovers; IT.NRW publishes the district‑level figures for North Rhine‑Westphalia; and Destatis compiles the national totals. The Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz acts as the lead agency, producing the 167‑page Fachbericht 158 that consolidates all data, analyses, and policy implications. The project is funded through state environmental budgets, with the federal statistical framework ensuring consistency across Germany. The report, released in 2021, serves as a key reference for waste management policy, resource recovery planning, and compliance with European waste directives.