Romania, Bulgaria Rank Last In EU By Municipal Waste Recycled In 2008

Just 1% of the 382 kilograms of waste produced in 2008 by each Romanian living in cities or large towns has been recycled, while the remainder has been stored, temporarily or permanently, in landfills, according to a statistic released Friday by Eurostat.

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The only country with a lower recycling rate than Romania is its neighbor Bulgaria, according to Eurostat. In Bulgaria, the entire amount of waste produced in cities and towns ended up in landfills in 2008.

According to the statistic, 524 kilograms of municipal waste was generated per person in the European Union in 2008. Of the total amount of waste produced, 40% was landfilled, 20% incinerated, 23% recycled and 17% composted.

The average amount of waste generated in the EU was virtually unchanged from 2007, when it stood at 525 kilograms per person.

Municipal waste generated per person varied from 306 kilograms in the Czech Republic to 802 kilograms in Denmark.

"The amount of municipal waste generated varies significantly across member states. This variation is mainly due to different consumption behavior, and to a lesser extent to the inclusion, by certain member states, of waste generated not only by households but also by small businesses and public institutions," the report states.

More than 700 kg of municipal waste per person was generated in 2008 in Denmark, Ireland, Cyprus and Luxembourg. Malta, the Netherlands and Austria had values between 600 and 700 kg per person and Germany, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom between 500 and 600 kg per person.

The next group of member states included Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, Portugal and Slovenia with values between 400 and 500 kg per person. The lowest values of below 400 kg per person were found in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

EU countries with the highest waste recycling rate are Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, with rates between 60% and 70%.

The lowest recycling rate is registered in Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Lithuania and Latvia.

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