VILNIUS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Landfilling could be reduced through better sorting and more efficient infrastructure, and the proportion of municipal waste for re-use and recycle should reach 55 percent by 2025, Lithuania's National Audit Office said in a recent report.
The report, released on Tuesday, said that in 2021, this proportion was 44.33 percent.
The involvement of Lithuanian residents in household waste management is increasing, but a greater motivation to sort waste is necessary, the office said.
In 2021, Lithuania's household population generated 1.345 million tonnes of municipal waste, of which about 54 percent is unsorted or mixed municipal waste left over after sorting.
Due to the use of non-recyclable materials for products and packaging, improper management of the waste generated and improper sorting by the population, 680,000 tonnes (50.52 percent) were incinerated for energy or disposed of in landfills.
Lithuanian residents lack the motivation to properly sort the waste they produce at home, the office said. In addition, infrastructure for waste should be further developed, according to Mindaugas Salcius, head of Performance Audit Department 3.
The share of the population sorting municipal waste increased from 40 percent in 2016 to 60 percent in 2021. A greater incentive for sorting would be provided if all municipalities set the fees for municipal waste management on the basis of the actual amount of waste.
The separation of biodegradable waste and other secondary raw materials requires infrastructure for the collection of food and kitchen waste, secondary raw materials and efficient facilities for the treatment of mixed municipal waste.
On average, only 2.86 percent of mixed municipal waste treated in mechanical-biological treatment facilities was prepared for recycling in 2021. ■
