The table provides data on how much waste was produced in six distinct nations over twenty years.
Overall, over the two decades, waste production in most countries experienced an upward trend, apart from Korea, which reduced its waste output between 1990 and 2000. Notably, the US consistently recorded the highest amount of waste refuse during the period shown.
In 1980, 131 million tonnes of waste was released in the US, significantly exceeding Japan’s, at 28 million. Poland generated 4 million tonnes of waste, twice as much as Portugal, while a mere 0.6 million tonnes was created in Ireland. At the same time, no data was given for Korea.
After twenty years, the US recorded considerable growth in the volume of waste refuse, hitting a peak of 192 million tonnes. Japan followed the same pattern, but to a much lesser extent, with its figure rising to 53 million tonnes, ranking second. Meanwhile, Poland and Portugal saw a marginal increase of around 3 million tonnes in their waste output, finishing at 6.6 million and 5 million tonnes, respectively. Ireland also witnessed a modest rise, reaching 5 million tonnes. In contrast, Korea produced 31 million tonnes of unwanted material in 1990, after which this nation curtailed the waste production to 19 million tonnes in 2000.
