Switzerland is one of the biggest producers of urban waste in Europe, according to figures released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics office, on Thursday. Only the Danes (766 kg) and the Norwegians (739 kg) throw away more.
Other big waste generating countries include Iceland (656 kg), Malta (640), Cyprus (637) and Germany (615). The European average is 492 kilos for 2018 with Romania at the bottom of the table with only 271 kilos of waste per head.
Despite ranking as one of the largest producers of urban waste in Europe, Swiss waste production is 5% less than the peak in 2008 when per capita waste generation was 733 kilos. It is also three kilos less than 2017.
In terms of recycling, each inhabitant of the European Union recycled 150 kilos of waste, compared to a mere 54 kilos in 1995. Composting per capita was 84 kilos compared to 33 kilos in 1995. In comparison the Swiss were good Europeans recycling 217 kg and composting 152 kilos in 2018.
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