Romanians generated on average 261 kilograms of waste in 2016, the lowest amount in the European Union (EU), according to the European statistical office Eurostat.

Denmark was at the other end, with 777 kilograms of waste per capita in 2016. In the EU, the average quantity of waste per capita was 480 kilograms, down from 515 kilograms per capita in 2005.

The amount of waste Romanians generate went down from 383 kilograms in 2005 to 261 kilograms in 2016, Eurostat data shows.

Other countries that generated low amounts of waste per capita were Poland (307 kilograms), Czech Republic (339 kilograms), and Slovakia (348 kilograms). Germany generates 626 kilograms of waste per capita, up from 565 kg in 2005.

However, despite the low amount of waste generated, Romania is among the EU countries sanctioned by the European Commission for breach of environmental directives. While Western European countries try to recycle or compost as much of their waste as possible, with the share of recycled and composted waste reaching 66% in Germany, Romania continues to deposit most of its garbage in landfills, with negative consequences on the environment.

editor@romania-insider.com