Latvia: 8.1 times more recycling, but also 43% more waste per person
From 2010 to 2024, waste rose from 324 to 462 kg per person. Recycled: 244 kg instead of 30; landfilled: 142 instead of 294.
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Less waste in landfill does not mean less waste overall: more can be recycled without generating less.
One percentage scale relative to 2010: 0% is the starting value, +100% is a doubling, −50% is a halving. Lines show the yearly path; on a short screen, bars show the change to 2024. Equal distances mean equal relative changes. For shares, this is relative change, not percentage points. Gaps are not filled; original values and units are below.
- Municipal waste generated kg per inhabitant
324 (2010) → 462 (2024)
- Municipal waste recycled kg per inhabitant
30 (2010) → 244 (2024)
- Municipal waste landfilled kg per inhabitant
294 (2010) → 142 (2024)
Published 2010 and 2024 values. No gap filling. Change is a difference in values or 100 × (end / start − 1). No causal effect is estimated.
Municipal waste is household and similar waste. Not all treatment methods are shown; exports, collection coverage and accounting changes affect comparability, so the three series need not balance. Lithuania starts in 2011: its 2010 recycling (20 kg) breaks the series (32 kg in 2009, 88 in 2011), which looks like an accounting change.
A question for this picture
What reduces waste itself, and what only changes how it is treated?