40% of European Waste Now Recycled

A total of 503kg of municipal waste was generated per person in 2011, with 486kg of this treated per person.
In 2011, 37 per cent of waste was landfilled, 23 per cent incinerated, 25 per cent recycled and 15 per composted.
This compares to 56 per cent landfilled, 17 per cent incinerated, 17 per cent recycled and 10 per cent composted in 2001.
Denmark had the highest waste per person with 718kg followed by Luxembourg, Cyprus and Ireland with values between 600 and 700kg per person.
The UK was joined by Germany, the Netherlands, Malta, Austria, Italy, Spain, France and Finland with values between 500 and 600kg.
Germany recycled 45 per cent of its waste followed by Ireland (37 per cent), Belgium (36 per cent) and Slovenia (34 per cent).
Denmark incinerated 54 per cent of its waste, Sweden 51 per cent, Belgium 42 per cent and Luxembourg and the Netherlands 38 per cent.
In 2011, according to the Eurostat data, the UK recycled 25 per cent of its waste, composted 14 per cent, incinerated 12 per cent and sent 49 per cent of its waste to landfill.
Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union