The Czech Republic was the third lowest per capita generator of household waste in the European Union (EU) in 2018, but this still represented a record high for the country since data started being collected in 1995. However, the proportion of waste recycled has also increased significantly over the past decade, from 10% in 2008 to 34% in 2018. Photo credit: KK / Brno Daily.
Czech Rep., Mar 23 (BD) – The amount of household waste per capita in the EU has been increasing gradually since 2014, but remains below its 2008 peak. The Czech Republic is one of the lowest generators of waste in the EU, but has seen a more significant increase in the past few years.
Across the whole EU, the amount of municipal waste generated per capita was 492 kg in 2018, 5% less than at its peak of 518 kg per person in 2008, according to Eurostat. This was a minor increase from the year before, when it was 490 kg.
The biggest producer of waste by far in the EU was Denmark, with 766 kg per person. The second highest, Malta, generated over 100 kg less, with 640 kg per person. The least amount of waste per person was generated in Romania (272 kg), followed by Poland (329 kg) and the Czech Republic (351 kg). All other Central and Eastern European EU member states also generated less waste per person than the European average.
The only Western European countries producing below average waste were Spain, Sweden and Belgium.
Chart: Municipal Waste – Recycled between 2008 and 2018. Source – Eurostat.
While still one of the lowest producers, 2018 saw a record high amount of waste generated per capita for the Czech Republic since records began in 1995.
At the same time, however, the Czech Republic has significantly increased the percentage of municipal waste recycled over the past decade, whether through recycling of material or composting.
Chart: In 2008, only 10% of municipal waste was recycled in the Czech Republic. In four years, this percentage more than doubled, and by 2015, the proportion of waste recycled was triple that level. Data from Eurostat.
Throughout the European Union, the average proportion of municipal waste recycled has also seen a steady increase over the past decade. This can at least partially be credited to the Waste Framework Directive, which came into force in 2008, and set a target of 50% of municipal waste to be recycled and prepared for reuse by 2020 in all EU Member States, for at least four categories of waste.
