According to data published by Eurostat on the processing of urban waste during 2012, about 82% of urban waste in Greece ends up in landfill sites, which amounts to about 503 kilos of garbage per resident on an annual basis.

Eurostat’s 2012 data on all EU members shows that on average 42% of processed urban waste was either recycled or composted (27% and 15% respectively), while 34% was buried and 24% was incinerated.

In the same year in Greece, about 16% was recycled, 2% turned into composed and 82% was buried in urban landfills. Greece has one of the highest rates of waste burial, trailing behind Romania (99%), Malta (87%), Croatia (85%) and Latvia (84%).

On the contrary, the highest rates of recycling within the EU are in Germany (65%), Austria (62%), Belgium (57%) and Holland (50%). The countries with the highest rate of waste incineration are Denmark and Sweden (52%), Holland (49%), Belgium (42%) and Luxemburg (36%).

Eurostat’s data also shows that each resident in the EU generates about 492 kilos of waste each year, while in Greece the average is 503 kilos per resident on an annual basis. The countries with the greatest volume of waster per resident are Denmark (668 kilos), Cyprus (663 kilos), Luxemburg (662 kilos) and Germany (611 kilos).

According to Eurostat, “urban waste” includes the waste created by households, small businesses and public bodies. It does not, however, include the waste generated by agricultural and industrial activities.