Waste Generated

Produced by the SASI group (Sheffield) and Mark Newman (Michigan)

This map shows waste collected from

homes, schools and businesses. This
waste takes the forms of packaging,
paper, organic waste, and bulky waste
such as fridges and matresses. The
most waste is produced in China,
where the biggest population lives.
The most waste produced per person
is generated in the Russian Federation.
Very small amounts of waste are
generated per person in Madagascar,
Burkina Faso, Nepal and Costa Rica.
In Nepal, and most other territories
in the world, it is much more common
to reuse containers than in richer
territories. Containers in rich territories
are often treated as single-use items.
What is defined as waste, and thus
disposed of, varies internationally.

kilogrammes of municipal waste generated per person living in that territory per year, in 2002*

300
200
100

Japan

Western Europe

400

North America

500

Eastern Europe

600

South America

MUNICIPAL WASTE GENERATED

Eastern Asia

700

Middle East

Value
171
156
149
131
77
54
17
17
10
9

Asia Pacific

Territory
Colombia
Morocco
Benin
Panama
Bolivia
Peru
Costa Rica
Nepal
Burkina Faso
Madagascar

Northern Africa

Rank
126
129
130
137
158
166
189
191
195
196

Southern Asia

Technical notes
Data are from the United Nations Statisitcs
Division, 2005.
*128 territories do not report data and their
estimated municipal waste is not shown in the
table.
China is large due to the large urban population;
exact figures are unknown.
See website for further information.

Value
1439
1176
1058
1048
928
771
735
715
697
680

Southeastern Africa

Land area

Territory
Russian Federation
Monaco
Georgia
Singapore
Azerbaijan
Hong Kong (China)
Luxembourg
United States
Iceland
Norway

Central Africa

HIGH AND LOW GENERATION OF MUNICIPAL WASTE

Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

municipal waste generated in kilogrammes

per person per year, 2002

Territory size shows the proportion of all municipal

waste generated worldwide that is generated there.

How many of us feel happy about the amount of plastic and packaging we ram into bins? We produce a
ludicrous amount of waste ... It is completely crazy, a gross waste of the planets resources ... Jackie Ashley, 2006
www.worldmapper.org

Copyright 2006 SASI Group (University of Sheffield) and Mark Newman (University of Michigan)

Map 307