Each person in the EU was responsible for 481 kilos of municipal waste in 2013.
While this seems excessive, it is lower than the peak of 527 kilos in 2002.
The good news is that since 2007 the amount of waste generated per person has constantly been going down and is now below the level last seem in the mid-1990s.
Municipal waste, as categorised by Eurostat, consists mainly of household refuse but some of it will have been from small businesses and was collected by the local authority.
Portuguese people had the equivalent of 440 kilos per person, not far below the EU average.
But while the EU average of recycling waste 28%, Portugal managed to recycle only 13%. Slovenia and Germany recycled the most, 55% and 47% respectively. But it has to be said that nearly all other countries recycled materials more than Portugal. Only Cyprus, Latvia, Malta and Romania recycled less waste.
Portugal appears to have an overreliance on landfill for its household refuse. Fully 50% is dumped in this way. The EU average is 31%.
But 50% was clearly not the highest in the EU. Spain used landfills for 60% of its garbage and Greece put 81% of its refuse in the ground.
Composting options provide another useful way to tackle refuse, but Portugal’s 13% was just below the EU’s 15% average. Austria (35%), the Netherlands (25%) and Belgium (21%) were the EU’s undisputed leaders in this field.
Nearly a quarter (24%) of all refuse is incinerated in Portugal – just a shade below the 26% average. Perhaps surprisingly, the countries which burned most of their waste were Denmark (54%) and Sweden (50%).
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