Čtvrtek 28. března 2024, svátek má Soňa
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Lidovky.cz

Czech cities: least waste, little recycled

Evropa

  22:17

Eurostat gives Czech Rep. a mixed urban-waste report card, with high marks for generating little trash but low marks for dealing with it

Some 83 percent of Czech municipal waste ends up in landfills foto: ČTKČeská pozice

Czechs generated the least amount of municipal waste per person in the EU-27, but had one of the worst rates of recycling and composting, figures from Eurostat showed.

Municipal waste consists to a large extent of waste generated by households, but may also include similar wastes generated by small businesses and public institutions and collected by the municipality, according to Eurostat’s definition. 

“In the EU-27, 513 kg of municipal waste was generated per person in 2009. The amount generated per person varied from 316 kg in the Czech Republic and Poland to 833 kg in Denmark,” Eurostat said. “On average in the EU-27, 504 kg of municipal waste was treated per person in 2009. Municipal waste was treated in different ways: 38 percent was landfilled, 20 percent incinerated, 24 percent recycled and 18 percent composted.”

The EU statistical arm noted that the discrepancy between waste generated and treated had to do with factors including dehydration, storage, exports and people not covered by collection programs. In the Czech Republic, 83 percent of treated waste was landfilled, 12 percent was incinerated, and only 2 percent was recycled and 2 percent was composted. ‘The amount generated per person varied from 316 kg in the Czech Republic and Poland to 833 kg in Denmark.’

“Recycling was most common in Germany (48 percent of waste treated), Belgium and Sweden (both 36 percent), [and] Slovenia and Denmark (both 34 percent). … The Member States with the highest composting rates for municipal waste were Austria (40 percent), Italy (32 percent), [and] the Netherlands (28 percent),” the report said.

“In seven Member States, less than 10 percent of waste was recycled or composted,” the Eurostat report said. The combined total for the Czech Republic was 4 percent. Bulgaria and Romania, at zero and 1 percent respectively, had the lowest levels. Malta and Lithuania tied with the Czech Republic.

The report added that in 2009, the EU member states with the highest share of municipal waste landfilled were Bulgaria (100 percent of waste treated), Romania (99 percent), Malta (96 percent), Lithuania (95 percent), and Latvia (92 percent).

The highest shares of incinerated municipal waste were in Sweden (49 percent), Denmark (48 percent), the Netherlands (39 percent), Luxembourg (36 percent), Belgium (35 percent) and Germany and France (with 34 percent). In 10 Member States incineration was equal to or below 1 percent.

 Waster generated per person (kg)Waste treated per person (kg)Landfilled %Incinerated %Recycled %Composted %
Municipal waste treatment in 2009
EU-2751350438202418
Belgium4914865353624
Bulgaria468450100000
Czech Republic316274831222
Denmark8338334483414
Germany5875640344818
Estonia3462857501411
Ireland742730623324
Greece478474820172
Spain5475475291524
France53653632341816
Italy54159445121132
Cyprus778778860140
Latvia3333392070
Lithuania36034295031
Luxembourg70770717362720
Hungary4304277510132
Malta64764396040
Netherlands6165201393228
Austria5915911293040
Poland316264781147
Portugal4884886219812
Romania39630899010
Slovenia449495621342
Slovakia339311821026
Finland48148146182412
Sweden4854801493614
UK52953848112614
Iceland5545207311142
Norway47346714422816
Switzerland7067060493417
 Source: Eurostat