The table compares the amount of waste produced in six countries, measured in millions of tonnes, in 1980, 1990 and 2000.
Overall, the United States produced by far the largest amount of waste throughout the period, with its figures increasing considerably. Most of the other countries also experienced growth in waste production, whereas South Korea was the only country to record a decline between 1990 and 2000.
In 1980, the US generated 131 million tonnes of waste, compared with just 28 million tonnes in Japan. These figures rose to 151 and 32 million tonnes respectively in 1990, before reaching 192 million tonnes in the US and 53 million tonnes in Japan by 2000. South Korea produced 31 million tonnes in 1990, but this figure fell sharply to 19 million tonnes in 2000. No data was available for Korea in 1980.
The remaining three countries recorded considerably lower figures. Ireland produced only 0.6 million tonnes of waste in 1980, while no figure was provided for 1990. By 2000, its waste production had increased to 5 million tonnes. Portugal also experienced a steady rise, from 2 million tonnes in 1980 to 3 million in 1990 and 5 million in 2000. Similarly, Poland’s figure increased from 4 to 5 million tonnes during the first decade, before reaching 6.6 million tonnes in 2000.