EU Recycled 41% Of Plastic Packaging Waste In 2019 - Eurostat

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2021) In 2019, each European Union (EU) resident on average produced 76 lbs of plastic packaging waste, 31 lbs of which were recycled, European Statistical Office (Eurostat) said on Wednesday.

In 2019, the EU recycled 41% of plastic packaging waste. Nine EU Member States reprocessed more than half of the produced plastic packaging waste: Lithuania (70%), Czechia (61%), Bulgaria (59%, 2018 data), the Netherlands (57%), Sweden and Slovakia (both 53%), Spain (52%), Cyprus (51%) and Slovenia (50%), Eurostat said in a report.

In comparison, less than one-third of plastic packaging waste was recycled in Malta (11%, 2018 data), France (27%), Ireland (28%), Austria (31%), Poland (32%) and Hungary (33%), the agency's figures show.

During the decade between 2009 and 2019, the amount of produced plastic packaging waste for each EU-resident increased by 24% (+15 lbs). The recycling amount of plastic packaging waste sharply increased over the same period, by 50% (+10 lbs). Despite the enhancement, the amount of unrecycled plastic packaging increased by 4.5 lbs for each EU-resident since 2009 due to the greater increase in the absolute cost of produced plastic packaging waste.