March 2009 news item:
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, has released the latest figures regarding the waste generation and recycling of household waste among the 27 member countries (EU27). In the EU27 in 2007, 42% of treated municipal waste was landfilled, 20% incinerated, 22% recycled and 17% composted. – The Member States with the highest recycling rates for municipal waste were Germany (46%), Belgium (39%), Sweden (37%), Estonia and Ireland (both 34%). Composting of municipal waste was most common in Austria (38%), Italy (33%), Luxembourg and the Netherlands (both 28%), and not done at all in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania. – Composting and recycling accounted for over 50% of municipal waste treated in Germany (64%), Belgium (62%), the Netherlands (60%) and Austria (59%).
- from eurostat (PDF)
Even public trash disposal in Germany
(here at a train station in 3 languages)
asks you to separate before you toss!
Photo © Hyde Flippo
Germany is extremely proud of its claim of being the world champion in recycling and trash separation (Mülltrennung). Germany leads the EU in the percentage of household waste it recycles or composts (64% versus 46% in the USA in 2007). Germans have been practicing and refining the fine art of trash separation ever since the introduction of the “Green Dot” Duales System in 1990. Besides their ABC’s, German children grow up learning about blue (paper, cardboard), yellow (packaging, plastic), green (glass), brown (biodegradable), and red/black/gray (all other waste) trash containers. (The colors may vary by locality, but are usually similar.) Batteries are never just tossed into the household trash, but READ MORE »
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