How much waste
In general, it can be stated that, as in the past, the production of urban waste is proportional to riches, or better to the pro capita Gross National Product (GNP). In most cases, in fact, the inhabitants of the rich and industrialized countries produce more waste than those in the poor and developing countries. In the European Union, in 2014, the States with the largest production of urban waste were Germany (50 million tons), France (33,7 million tons), Italy (29,6 million tons) and the United Kingdom (31,1 million tons). Most of the pro capita production instead, was from Denmark (758 kg/inhabitant per year), Cyprus (617 kg/inhabitant per year) and Luxemburg (616 kg/inhabitant per year). In 2015 in Italy, about 29.5 million tons were produced, with a pro capita production of about 486,7 kg: this means that each one of us produces an average of 1.3 kg of waste per day. These quantities can become equally precious energy resources and raw materials, but an integrated recovery and treatment system must be created, as foreseen by the Ronchi Decree. Otherwise large quantities can mean only big problems with regard to management and impact on the environment.
(Source: EUROSTAT; ISPRA, Rapporto Rifiuti Urbani, 2016)
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