Textile waste in Bulgaria increased by 32.3% over two years, reaching 42,399 tonnes in 2024. In 2022, the recorded amount was 32,044 tonnes, according to Eurostat data.
Households generated 10,385 tonnes, or 24.5% of all textile waste in the country. Their share is significantly below the European Union average, where households are responsible for 54.6% of the total amount.
The Amount Remains Below the 2020 Record
Despite the reported increase, the amount of textile waste in Bulgaria in 2024 remained below the record 50,785 tonnes registered in 2020. That was the first time since Eurostat began collecting data on the indicator in 2004 that the amount exceeded 50,000 tonnes.
In 2024, there were 7 kilograms of textile waste per capita. This is 2 kilograms more than in 2022 and 1 kilogram less than in 2020. The same amount per capita was also recorded in Italy.
Higher figures were recorded in Slovenia, the Netherlands and Lithuania, at 8 kilograms per person. The amount was 9 kilograms in Luxembourg and Czechia, 15 kilograms in Belgium, and 28 kilograms in Ireland.
63% of Waste Was Processed in the EU
A total of 2.27 million tonnes of textile waste was generated in the European Union in 2024, of which 1.24 million tonnes came from households. The amount processed was around 1.4 million tonnes, or 63% of all waste generated.
Of the processed waste, 78% was recycled, 13% was incinerated with energy recovery, 8% was landfilled, and 1% was incinerated without energy recovery.
Italy ranked first in the European Union, with 441,736 tonnes of textile waste generated and 280,680 tonnes processed. It was followed by France, with 339,965 tonnes generated and 258,129 tonnes processed, and Germany, with 212,107 and 207,156 tonnes, respectively.
Italy and France recycled more than 98% of their processed textile waste. The lowest recycling rates were recorded in Latvia, at 0%, Estonia, at 5%, and Romania, at 23%, with Romania’s data dating from 2022.
Sources: novini.bg