Prague, Jan 3 (CTK) – The production of wastes decreased in the Czech Republic by 8 percent in 2016, compared to the previous year, although the volume of municipal waste increased, according to a report on waste management that the government discussed on Wednesday.
The total production of wastes was 34.2 million tonnes in 2016, while in 2015 it was 37.2 million tonnes, according to the data of the Environment Ministry. This is mainly thanks to a lower production of construction and demolition wastes.
Czech households produced 5.6 million tonnes of waste in 2016, or 6.4 percent more than the previous year, and 45 percent of it ended up in waste dumps. Most of the waste was produced in Prague and the region surrounding it, Central Bohemia.
The portion of the municipal waste ending at dumps slightly decreased, but a more marked decrease is needed, and more of the wastes need to be further processed, the ministry’s report says.
In 2016, 38 percent of the municipal waste was used in further production and 12 percent was used for energy production.
The Czech waste management plan from 2014 aims to lower the production of wastes and get closer to the European “recycling society.” The country is fully meeting about two thirds of the plan’s objectives and it is partly meeting nearly one third of them.
A ban on new waste dumps will take effect as of 2024. The Environment Ministry worked out a bill on wastes in the past election period, but the parliament did not pass it. The current minority government of Andrej Babis (ANO) said a new bill on wastes will be submitted by the end of the year.
