site.btaGenerated Municipal Waste Tended Up from 2020 to 2022 - Statistics

The quantity of generated municipal waste tended to increase during the 2020-2022 period, reaching 3,157,000 in 2022, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported in its publication Environment 2022, released on Friday.

The publication is accessible online in a bilingual Bulgarian and English version.

Waste

At 71, the number of municipal waste landfills registered in Bulgaria in 2022 was significantly lower than the 104 in 2017. At the same time, the introduction of organized waste collection systems in more settlements leads to an increase in the share of the population covered by these services, from 99.7% (2017) to 99.9% (2022).

The amount of per capita generated municipal waste was 475 kg om 2022, up by 30 kg from 2021. At the same time, the amount of municipal waste delivered for recycling increased as well, from 302,000 tonnes in 2021 to 375,000 tonnes in 2022.

Packaging

The quantity of the packaging placed on the market in Bulgaria has tended up and reached 523,000 tonnes in 2022. The largest share is made of plastic, paper and cardboard packages took up the largest share, 54% of the average annual amount for the 2018 - 2022 period. In 2022, plastic packaging (148,000 tonnes) was 2% lower than in 2020, and paper and cardboard decreased by the same percentage. The quantity of glass packaging increased, reaching 104,000 tonnes in 2022, or 11% up.

Noise Levels

In 2022, noise levels were monitored at 749 points located in 36 settlements countrywide. Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora and Kyustendil were the cities where the most exceedances of the permissible noise levels were recorded in 2022. The absence of points where noise levels in the highest ranges (78-82 dB(A) and above 82 dB(A) are levels is emerging as a persistent trend.