A total of 51% of plastic packaging waste generated in Cyprus in 2019 were recycled, compared to 41% in the EU average, according to data published by Eurostat.
In 2019, each person living in the EU generated 34.4 kg of plastic packaging waste, out of which 14.1 kg was recycled.
Between 2009 and 2019, the volume of plastic packaging waste generated per inhabitant increased by 24% (an increase of 6.7 kg per person).
The recycling volume of plastic packaging waste increased sharply over the same period, by 50% (an increase of 4.7 kg person).
Eurostat notes however that this means that the amount of plastic packaging that wasn’t recycled increased by 2.0 kg per inhabitant since 2009.
Nine EU Member States recycled more than half of the plastic packaging waste generated in 2019: Lithuania (70%), Czechia (61%), Bulgaria (59%, 2018 data), the Netherlands (57%), Sweden and Slovakia (both 53%), Spain (52%), Cyprus (51%) and Slovenia (50%).
Less than one-third of plastic packaging waste was recycled in Malta (11%, 2018 data), France (27%), Ireland (28%), Austria (31%), Poland (32%) and Hungary (33%).
(Story by Yiorgos Kakouris-CNA’s correspondent in Brussels)
