Waste from economic activity - 2024

In 2024, the total generated waste for Bulgaria was 88 969 530 tons (a 5.59% decrease compared to 2023, when it was 94 238 564 tons). The non-hazardous waste was 73 714 718 tons, or 83%, and the hazardous waste was 15 254 812 tons, or 17%.

The largest amount of total waste generated in 2024 - 74 005 561 tons - was that of Mineral wastes. On second place were the Combustion wastes - in 2024 the amount was 7 823 384 tons, and the smallest amount of metal waste generated was 1 ton of hazardous metal wastes.

In 2024, most waste was generated in the ‘Mining and quarrying’ sector - 71 033 040 tons, or 80% of the total waste generated in the country. On second place was the section ‘Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply’ - 5 887 768 tons, or 6.61 %, and on third place - ‘Manufacturing’ section - 4 662 636 tons, or 5.24%. Least waste was generated in the ‘Services’ sector - 1 137 918 tons, or 1.27%.

The most waste handed over for disposal in 2024 was from combustion processes - 2 306 306 tons, and most exported from the country was the metal waste - 125 942 tons.

Methodological notes

The main objective of the statistical survey is to provide information to all stakeholders and the public about the generation, recovery and disposal of waste from economic activity in accordance with the requirements of the Regulation (EC) No. 2150/2002 on waste statistics.

In order to monitor the implementation of the waste policy, the European Community requires regular community statistics on the production and management of waste from businesses and households. This creates the basis for the control of compliance with the principles of maximizing the recovery and safe disposal. Statistical tools are needed to assess compliance with the principle of waste prevention and to establish a link between waste generation data and world, national and regional resource use catalogues. The statistical survey ‘Waste from economic activity’ was created and is conducted with the aim of satisfying the needs of statistical data on waste at the European and national level. The statistics collected allow the implementation of EU waste policy to be monitored and evaluated.

The statistical data on generated and treated waste, obtained as a result of the statistical survey, are used in the reporting under the Regulation (EC) No. 2150/2002 on waste statistics to the EC - DG Eurostat. The data are published annually, according to the Release Calendar, on the NSI website for public information. They are also provided to various institutions or organizations in the country for evaluations and analyses.

Data series can be found on NSI’s website: www.nsi.bg, section Environment/Data.