The table illustrates the amount of waste produced (in millions of tonnes) by six distinct nations over a twenty-year period, starting in 1980.
Overall, it is clear that the United States produced the largest amount of waste throughout this period. Additionally, all countries experienced an upward trend, with the exception of Korea.
Between 1980 and 2000, the amount of waste generated by the United States was the highest, beginning at 131 million tonnes in 1980 and increasing significantly by 61 million tonnes to reach 192 million tonnes in 2000. Similarly, Japan experienced a considerable rise in its waste production, nearly doubling by 2000. During the same time frame, waste production in Poland and Portugal increased by 2.6 million tonnes and 3 million tonnes, respectively.
The trends for Ireland and Korea were markedly different. In Ireland, waste production surged more than eightfold, rising from just 0.6 million tonnes in 1980 to 5 million tonnes in 2000. In contrast, Korea saw a significant decline in waste output, dropping from 31 million tonnes in 1990 to only 19 million tonnes in 2000.