Climate and energy transition

Citizens of the EU-27 generated a total of half a ton (524kg) each of municipal waste in 2008, according to a study orchestrated by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The published statistic, virtually unchanged since 2007 (525kg per person),. includes 40% landfilled municipal waste (into or onto land), 20% incinerated, 23% recycled and 14% composted. It should however be noted that certain small countries, such as Luxemburg, have to export parts of their waste so that it may be recycled, a fact which was not included in Eurostat's study.

The amount of municipal waste greatly differs among the 27 member states. Indeed, Denmark, Ireland, Cyprus and Luxemburg produced over 700kg of waste per person. Inversely, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia amassed less than 400kg.

These differences are largely due to divergent consumption behaviours, explains Eurostat. Certain countries also take into account waste produced by small businesses and public institutions, on top of those generated by households. However, agricultural and industrial waste was not included in the study.

Eastern European countries tend to deposit their waste in landfills, with Bulgaria in the lead (100% of waste treated), followed by Romania with 99%, Lithuania with 96% and Latvia with 93%. Malta is also a part of the club with 97% deposited in landfills, although the amount of waste produced per person is much higher (between 600 and 700kg).

Austria (70%), Germany (65%), the Netherlands (60%) and Belgium (59%) take the lead in terms of composting and recycling, while seven member states recycled and composted less than 10% of their waste.