CYPRUS has again topped the list in Europe as generators of the most household waste with 760kg per person on average.

In the EU27, 502 kg of municipal waste was generated per person in 2010, while 486 kg of municipal waste was treated per person. This municipal waste was treated in different ways3: 38 per cent was landfilled, 22 per cent incinerated, 25 per cent recycled and 15 per cent composted.

The amount of municipal waste generated varies significantly across member states. Cyprus, with 760 kg per person, had the highest amount of waste generated in 2010, followed by Luxembourg, Denmark and Ireland with values between 600kg and 700 kg per person, and the Netherlands, Malta, Austria, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Portugal with values between 500kg and 600kg. 

Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary and Bulgaria had values between 400kg and 500kg, while values of below 400kg per person were recorded in Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia and Latvia.

In 2010, the Member States with the highest share of municipal waste landfilled were Bulgaria (100 per cent), Romania (99 per cent), Lithuania (94 per cent) and Latvia (91 per cent).

Recycling was most common in Germany (45 per cent), Belgium (40 per cent), Slovenia (39 per cent) and Sweden (36 per cent)

In Cyprus 80 per cent of waste is still landfilled, 16 per cent recycled and 4.0 per cent composted.

Cyprus Mail