Brussels, 26/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - Treating municipal waste is good but not incinerating it is even better. Almost all waste in the EU in 2012 was treated but, although incineration should be the last resort in the hierarchy of waste treatment defined by EU legislation, according to Eurostat (the EU's Statistics Office) statistics published on Tuesday 25 March, it is still a very frequent practice in a number of countries. Over a period of almost 20 years, however, progress in recycling and composting has been significant. In 2012, 42% of municipal waste was recycled or composted, as opposed to 18% in 1995.
Of the 492 kg of municipal waste generated per person in 2012, 480 kg was treated. This municipal waste was treated in different ways: 34% was landfilled (37% the previous year), 24% incinerated (23% the previous year), 27% recycled (25% in 2011) and 15% composted (this figure has remained stable).
The amount of municipal waste generated per person varies significantly across member states. Denmark, with 668 kg per person, had the highest amount of waste generated in 2012, followed by Cyprus, Luxembourg and Germany with lower amounts but above 600 kg per person and Malta, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Finland and Greece with values between 500 and 600 kg. The United Kingdom, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belgium, Portugal and Hungary had values between 400 and 500 kg, while values of below 400 kg per person were recorded in Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Estonia.
As in 2011, the highest shares of municipal waste landfilled in 2012 were recorded in Romania (99% of waste treated), followed by Malta (87%, as opposed to 92% in 2011), Croatia (85%), Latvia (84%, as opposed to 88% the previous year) and Greece (82%). Levels of incinerated municipal waste were highest in Denmark and Sweden (both 52% - in 2011 the level stood at 54% in Denmark and 51% in Sweden), the Netherlands (49%, as opposed to 38% in 2011), Belgium (42%, stable figure), Luxembourg (36%, 38% in 2011), Germany and Austria (both 35% - Germany down from 37% in 2011, while the figure remained unchanged in Austria), Finland (34%) and France (33%, as opposed to 35% in 2011).
Recycling/composting: Germany, Austria, Netherlands and Belgium top of the league
Germany was the recycling champion (47% of waste treated, as opposed to 45% the previous year), followed by Slovenia (42%, as opposed to 34% in 2011), Ireland (37%, stable figure), Belgium (36% stable figure), Estonia (34%), Denmark and Sweden (32% each, as opposed to 31% and 33% respectively the previous year). Composting member state champions were Austria (34% of waste treated, stable figure), the Netherlands (28%, as opposed to 26% the previous year), Belgium (21%, as opposed to 20% in 2011) and Luxembourg (19%, instead of 20%), as well as Germany and the United Kingdom (18% each). Recycling and composting municipal waste altogether accounted for over 50% of waste treated in Germany (65%, stable figure), Austria (62%, stable figure) and Belgium (57%, stable figure). Also doing well are the Netherlands (50%, as opposed to 61% the previous year), Luxembourg (47%), the United Kingdom (46%), Ireland (45%) and France (39%). In Finland, composting/recycling and incineration were used in equal measure is (34% each).
In principle, the data on municipal waste treated do not take into account waste exported for treatment, except in Luxembourg, where recycled quantities also include exports, explains Eurostat. (AN)