The table compares and contrasts data on the changes in the amount of waste production of six various countries, namely Ireland, Japan, Korea, Poland, Portugal, and the US, measured in tonnes, over a 21-year period from 1980 to 2000.
A closer look at the diagram highlights the fact that the US still held the top position during this time, and most countries experienced an upward trend during this period, while the opposite was true for Korea.
To be more precise, at the start, the United States produced 131 million tonnes of waste and jumped to 151 million tonnes in 1990, and surged to its peak, which was 192 million tonnes in 2000, which was far ahead of other countries. Other countries, including Ireland and Portugal, increased steadily from 0.6 and 2 in 1980 and both reached 5 tonnes in 2000. Poland has a similar the growth rate, starting from 4 tonnes and finished with 6.6 at the end of this period.
When it comes to Japan, starting from 28 tonnes, it increased slightly to 32 tonnes in 1990 and jumped to 53 tonnes at the end of this period, which was nearly doubled. Notably, Korea, which was right behind Japan in 1990 with 31 tonnes, experienced a downward trend and fell to 19 tonnes at the finish – almost half of its peak.