Germany as a recycling model

European countries differ greatly when it comes to waste sorting in general and compliance with ecological principles. In the north, in Scandinavia, recycling is taken very seriously, just as it is in Germany. In Sweden, only 2% of all waste ends up in landfills, while 50% is burned to heat homes and obtain ecological energy from specialised incineration plants.

In Norway, every larger shop is equipped with a machine that collects returnable bottles. In its western neighbour, almost half of all waste is sent for recycling, and this is the highest result in Europe.

For comparison, according to Statistics Poland, 17.6% of waste was recycled in Poland in 2015. The previous year's figure was 13%, while the European Union average is 27%. At present, the municipal waste-management situation continues to improve, although we probably will not yet reach the European average in 2017. Nevertheless, the improvements and new rules being introduced are producing results, and we are moving towards success one small step at a time. Today, Poland is at the level of Italy, France and Finland in terms of recycling materials.

How much municipal waste do we produce?

Statistics from Statistics Poland show that throughout 2015, Poles collected as much as 10.8 million tonnes of municipal waste, with the largest amount coming from Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Each of us produces approximately 283 kg of waste, which is as much as 5.2% more than in the previous year. In Poland, the amount of waste is twice as high as in the aforementioned Italy, France or Finland.

We can, however, take pride in our aluminium recovery rate. Over the past 20 years, recycling of this chemical element has increased by 77%. Today, according to Jacek Wodzisławski, president of the Recal Foundation, we send almost 80% of aluminium for recovery, which places us among the leaders of the European Union. It is an extremely profitable business, as one tonne of aluminium can bring approximately PLN 4,000.

The least developed recycling systems in Europe

The farther south one goes, the greater the problem with municipal waste becomes. The countries with the lowest waste-recovery rates include Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain. This result may be caused by an unfavourable financial situation and numerous islands, where sorting is more difficult. Improper waste separation is also influenced by the fact that these are highly tourist-oriented places, and holidaymakers do not always comply with the environmental standards in force.

Find more information about waste collection on the website https://www.eko-logis.pl/legnica/