The bar chart compares how waste is disposed through four methods – burning, chemical use, recycling and landfilling – across four European countries during a particular period.
Overall, Italy recorded the highest proportion of waste being burnt, whereas the UK most heavily relied on recycling. While the figures varied considerably in most countries, the Netherlands used all four disposal methods equally. Notably, the proportion of landfilled waste was identical in Italy and the Netherlands.
There was a significant discrepancy in the burning method between Italy and the Netherlands, with figures standing at 70% and 10%, respectively. Both chemical use and recycling in Italy were double those of the Netherlands, at 20% compared to 10%. By contrast, there was no difference in the landfilling method recorded in Italy and Netherlands, at 10% each.
As far as the UK and Spain are concerned, recycling was the dominant category in both nations, accounting for 65% in the UK, roughly twice the figure recorded in Spain at 30%. The difference in chemical use was negligible between the two countries, with corresponding figures of 18% and 20%. In terms of burning, Spain recorded 22%, seven percentage points higher than the UK(15%). By far the lowest figure for landfilling belonged to the UK, at a mere 2%, whereas Spain disposed of approximately 12% of its waste through this method.