UK ranked tenth in 2015 European recycling table
30th January 2017 | Recycling
The United Kingdom and Italy tied for tenth place among the top-ranked municipal waste recyclers in Europe during 2015. Figures published by the European Union’s statistics body Eurostat show. The European Recycling Table, which comprises EU’s 27 member states, as well as other European nations (Norway, Switzerland, Montenegro), the UK’s combined recycling and composting rate stood at 43.5% in 2015, down from 43.7% a year earlier.
Germany hung onto its spot at the top of the league table, with an overall recycling rate of 66.1% for 2015. This is a slight improvement on its previous performance, comfortably clear of the second top performing nation, Austria, with 56%.
European Recycling Table
The European Recycling Table shows EU member states recycled 45.2% of their municipal waste. Data showing the amount of waste landfilled per country has yet to be published. Compared to is 2014 ranking, the UK dropped one place, largely due to a surge in recycling in Slovenia. It leapt from 36% in 2014 to 54.1% in 2015.
Elsewhere the European Recycling Table shows a breakdown of waste generated and treated per person. This shows that across the continent in 2015, around 477kg of municipal waste is generated per person. This is an increase from 474kg per person recorded in 2014. This is the first such rise since 2007. Despite this increase, waste generation per person is down by 9%, compared with its peak of 527kg per person in 2002.
For the UK, the amount of waste generated per person increased from 482kg in 2014 to 485kg, although this ranks far behind the continent’s top waste producing country per person, Denmark, where 789kg of waste was produced per capita. Cyprus, Germany, Luxemburg and Malta all produced in excess of 600kg of waste per person.
European Recycling Table 2015
Rank 2015 2014 Movement
1 Germany 66.1% 65.6% –
2 Austria 56.0% 56.3% –
3 Slovenia 54.1% 36.0% ↑
4 Belgium 53.4% 53.2% –
5 Switzerland 52.7% 53.5% ↓
6 Netherlands 51.7% 50.9% ↓
7 Luxemburg 48.0% 47.7% –
8 Sweden 48.0% 49.9% ↓
9 Denmark 46.3% 45.1% –
10 Italy 43.5% 45.6% ↓
United Kingdom 43.5% 43.7% ↓
More information available on the website below
http://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/uk-ranked-tenth-in-2015-european-recycling-table/