The provided table illustrates the amount of total waste produced, measured in million tonnes, across six countries in three years 1988, 1992 and 2000.
Overall, it is immediately apparent that the United States recorded the highest figures throughout the period, whereas Scotland consistently represented the lowest value. Furthermore, Japan and Canada experienced steady upward trends, while the remaining nations showed fluctuating or declining patterns.
Looking at the data in more detail, the United States emerged as the leader, with a value of 209 million tonnes, in 2000, surpassing all other countries. This was followed by Canada, which accounted for 29 million tonnes in 2000. It is worth noting that US figure alone more than doubled the combined totals of all other countries in that year. Similarly, Japan also showed a steady upward trend, rising from 15 million tonnes in 1988 to 25 million tonnes in 2000.
In contrast, the figures for Scotland and Ireland were significantly lower. Specifically, Scotland stood at only 5 million tonnes in 2000, which is a fraction of the figure recorded for the US. Meanwhile, Ireland and Poland showed a noticeable disparity and fluctuation. Ireland’s waste output peaked at 16 million tonnes in 1992 before declining to 9.9 million tonnes in 2000. On the other hand, Poland dropped sharply to 2.89 million tonnes in 1992 but then rose dramatically to 18 million tonnes by 2000