In mid-February 2021 Eurostat published a press release highlighting MSW generation in the EU member States in 2019 and providing updated figures on MSW recovery and disposal at the EU level.
Concerning the SMART WASTE partners’ respective EU member states, MSW generation figures range from 407 kg per person (2018 data) for Bulgaria to 844 kg per person for Denmark (the highest among all member states) whereas the average amount on the EU level is estimated at 502 kg per person. Detailed overview of the MSW generation figures for the SMART WASTE partners’ respective EU member states is given below:
o P4 - BAMEE Bulgaria (2018): 407 kg per person.
o P5 - ACR+ Belgium: 415 kg per person.
o P3 - KRWMC Lithuania: 472 kg per person.
o LP - ARRR Italy: 499 kg per person.
o EU estimated: 502 kg per person.
o P6 - Municipality of Apeldoorn Netherlands: 508 kg per person.
o P2 - Municipality of Kolding: Denmark: 844 kg per person.
Eurostat press release also shows considerable progress on the EU level in municipal waste recovery: the amount of waste recycled (material recycling and composting) almost tripled from 37 million tonnes (87 kg per person) in 1995 to 107 million tonnes (239 kg per person) in 2019. Moreover, since 1995, the amount of municipal waste incinerated in the EU has doubled from 30 million tonnes (70 kg per person) to 60 million tonnes (134 kg per person) in 2019. Last but not least, the total amount of municipal waste landfilled in the EU has more than halved since 1995: from 121 million tonnes (286 kg per person) in 1995 to 54 million tonnes (120 kg per person) in 2019.
Presented figures show that the progress towards a more circularity oriented MSW management is evident. Nevertheless, the new and ambitious EU targets for waste recycling and for reducing the use of landfills, as set out by the latest 2018 Directive, call for even stronger efforts in public policy support for innovation in waste management, which is the core aim of the Interreg Europe SMART WASTE project.
Source and more information here.
