WORLDWIDE
In 2018, 2.1 bt of waste were produced worldwide, 70 % of which went to landfills, where it was buried or burnt.
It is calculated that by 2050 this number may increase up to 3.4 bt a year, if waste management will not be developed more successfully and rapidly in the following 30 years.
The highest amount of household waste was produced in East Asian countries in 2018. This indicator was mainly caused by China, which has the highest population in the world – 1.393 billion inhabitants.
The second highest amount of household waste in 2018 was observed in Eurasian countries with 392 mt of household waste produced. More than a half of this amount was produced by European countries.
EUROPE
In 2018, on average 220 mt of household waste were produced in European countries, which is by 2 mt more than in 2017.
48 % of this waste was recycled, whereas the rest 52 % was taken to landfills for burying or burning.
One European inhabitant annually produces on average 492 kg of household waste.
WHAT MAKES UP HOUSEHOLD WASTE
In 2018, most of household waste in Europe was comprised of food and biological waste. These groups of waste constituted 32 % of the total amount of household waste.
Almost the same percentage of waste was constituted by waste paper – 29 %.
72 % of this waste was recycled, whereas the remaining 28 % was buried at landfills.
22 % of the waste paper buried at landfills was waste paper that cannot be recycled as it is comprised of low class paper that cannot be or is very complicated to be used repeatedly or processed into new products.
The remaining 40 % of household waste in Europe was comprised of other types of household waste, for example, glass, plastic, metal and textile.
Sources:
www.worldbank.org , ec.europa.eu , www.researchgate.net , www.twosides.info
