4 March 2013: Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, has released data on recycling and composting rates of treated municipal waste in European countries. Data also have been released on amounts of waste generated per capita on a country-by-country basis.

According to Eurostat, rates have increased from 27% of treated municipal waste being recycled or composted in 2001, to 40% in 2012. Regarding rates of municipal waste generated per person, the European average was 503 kilograms (kg) per year. Eurostat says there is significant variation in waste generated across countries, with the highest amounts of waste generated in Denmark, at 718 kg per person. The lowest rates of waste generation were found in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, all of which had values below 400 kg per person. [Eurostat Press Release] [Eurostat Website]