Municipal waste recycled in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Municipal waste recycled was 526,000 tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Municipal waste recycled in Bulgaria, 2000–2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
In 2023, municipal waste recycled in Bulgaria stood at 526,000 tonnes. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 32.3% on the previous year and down 41.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Bulgaria peaked at 1.06 million tonnes in 2017 and was at its lowest, 526,000 tonnes, in 2023.
That places Bulgaria 47th out of 90 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycled in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 775,000 tonnes | — |
| 2001 | 770,000 tonnes | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 770,000 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 774,000 tonnes | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 793,000 tonnes | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 822,000 tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 839,000 tonnes | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 858,000 tonnes | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 871,000 tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 887,000 tonnes | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 1.00 million tonnes | +13.1% |
| 2011 | 979,000 tonnes | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 841,000 tonnes | -14.1% |
| 2013 | 894,000 tonnes | +6.3% |
| 2014 | 736,000 tonnes | -17.7% |
| 2015 | 884,000 tonnes | +20.1% |
| 2016 | 917,000 tonnes | +3.7% |
| 2017 | 1.06 million tonnes | +16.1% |
| 2018 | 901,000 tonnes | -15.4% |
| 2019 | 1.06 million tonnes | +18.2% |
| 2020 | 997,000 tonnes | -6.4% |
| 2021 | 861,000 tonnes | -13.6% |
| 2022 | 777,000 tonnes | -9.8% |
| 2023 | 526,000 tonnes | -32.3% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 526,000 tonnes is below the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 55% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 526,000 tonnes is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.06 million tonnes, 50% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 815,900 tonnes | 770,000 tonnes | 887,000 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 928,500 tonnes | 736,000 tonnes | 1.06 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 790,250 tonnes | 526,000 tonnes | 997,000 tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More environment data for Bulgaria
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.573 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.18 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -6.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.7509 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycled in Bulgaria?
- Municipal waste recycled in Bulgaria was 526,000 tonnes in 2023, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 1.06 million tonnes in 2017.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 526,000 tonnes in 2023.
- How does Bulgaria rank for municipal waste recycled?
- Bulgaria ranks 47th out of 90 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 41.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).