According to the World Bank’s waste report, which calculates the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated by each country, the US Virgin Islands is the planet's most wasteful country. But that’s only part of the story as recycling rates are not available for all countries, such as the Virgin Islands or New Zealand. We reviewed the tonnes of waste generated per person after recycling, and found a very different story of the 30 richest yet most wasteful countries...

In 2017, the European Union identified almost 300 illegal landfill sites in Spain. So while it might only be the 30th most wasteful rich country on this list, Spain (the world’s 49th richest country, according to the CIA World Factbook) is still one of the 14 countries the EU warns is at risk of missing the bloc’s 2020 50% recycling target. Spain recycles 17% but has 20 million tonnes of MSW to deal with each year – 16.7 million after recycling, or 0.36 tonnes per person.

Portugal has 4.7 million tonnes of waste to deal with annually and, although it has underground recycling systems (such as the one pictured), only 16% of waste is recycled, well below European averages. It is another country on the EU’s hit list, along with Malta, Greece and Cyprus, with capital Lisbon’s waste piles growing 10% in the last three years, largely due to tourism. The world’s 67th richest country will ban restaurants and bars from offering single-use plastic containers next year.

France, one of the biggest contributors to the EU, is a surprising entry on this list. Its nearly 67 million people produce 33 million tonnes of waste a year and only recycle 22%. The Economist Intelligence Unit says it is the top country in the world for food sustainability, with law in the 41st richest country forbidding food waste by supermarkets – but less than 25% of plastic packaging is recycled and the country will only be banning plastic bags from next year.

Ireland, the fifth European country to sit at the bottom of this list, is a country in crisis after China closed its doors to overseas recycling last year. The world’s 10th richest country produces 2.7 million tonnes of waste annually and recycles a third, leaving 1.8 million tonnes (0.39 tonnes per person) to incinerate or dump. Eurostat figures show that Ireland is the biggest producer of plastic waste –nearly all of which used to be taken by China.

The Netherlands has 8.9 million tonnes of waste to manage each year, recycling a quarter. The world’s 23rd richest country is taking some novel approaches to waste disposal, from a bike path made of recycled plastic to a supermarket selling chutneys, soaps and booze made from wonky or blemished fruit and vegetables. The Dutch government aims to halve the amount of food its people throw away to meet the EU’s stringent waste goals by 2030.

Some 60 million tonnes of rubbish is produced by 143 million Russians, with recycling a paltry 5%. Greenpeace has reported that 90 per cent of Moscow’s waste goes to landfill and, after 25,000 people protested in late 2018 over toxic dumps, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to create a federal recycling company in early 2019. Russia, the world’s 73rd richest country, says it wants to process 80% of its waste by 2030, an ambitious goal.

Austria, where this waste incineration plant in Spittelau has been beautified, does not have such a beautiful record when it comes to waste, with its 8.6 million people producing almost five million tonnes of waste annually and recycling 26%. The world’s 30th richest country is banning non-biodegradable plastic bags from next year and hopes to eliminate 7,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year.

Cyprus’ environment minister last year said that 70% of Cypriot rubbish was going to landfill, compared to European directives of 10% or less and Cyprus risks multi-million euro penalties if it does not clean up its act. Rising numbers of tourists are also putting pressure on the systems on the Mediterranean island, the world’s 53rd richest country, to manage 541,000 tonnes of waste, of which just 13% is recycled.

The Faroe Islands, located in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland and part of the Kingdom of Denmark, produces 61,000 tonnes of waste a year, or 1,25 tonnes per capita but recycle over two-thirds of the archipelago’s waste – the best rate of any of the 30 richest wasters. With little produce grown in the bitter climate, the Faroese import much of their fruit and vegetables – and have become experts in its conservation, which keeps food wastage to a minimum.

In 2016 the European Court fined debt-ridden Greece $11.3 million (£8.8m) for not following rules on disposing of rubbish. As much as 80% of waste was ending up at Greek landfill sites. The world’s 74th richest country still produces almost 5.5 million tonnes of waste annually and recycles just 19%. Local paper Ekathimerini recently reported that almost half of waste sent to Greece’s largest recycling plant, in Koropi, eastern Attica, was going to landfill.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s 22nd richest country, produces just over 16 million tonnes of waste a year, of which 15% is recycled. But although the kingdom is the least wasteful of the five Gulf countries on this list, it ranks number one in the world in food waste, according to a report by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, throwing out 30% of all food produced.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the world’s fifth richest country, produces 356,000 tonnes of waste annually and recycles 28%, but still has a way to go to reduce its 0.45 tonnes of waste per person after recycling. Luxembourg only put a stop to free plastic bags in stores as of 2019 (a move made in the UK back in 2015), which it hopes will be a major driver in reducing single-use plastics.

Qatar fares worse than its much larger neighbour Saudi Arabia. Even though it only produces one million tonnes of waste a year, a 16th of the kingdom’s figure, it has an abysmal 3% recycling rate. The world’s second richest country has been working hard at turning around its rubbish problem, however: total waste has declined by a third since 2011, with a focus on construction waste, and it aims to recycle 15% by 2022.

Like its Gulf compatriots, the UAE is a wasteful country with a fast-rising population of nine million residents. The world’s 13th richest produces 5.4 million tonnes of waste a year, recycling 20% (the best in the Gulf). A new federal law passed last year aims to increase recycling levels to 75%, with a punishing Dh1 million fine (£211,500) for illegal waste disposal. And in an innovative move, Dubai has sent a rubbish-eating ‘shark’ drone into its marina to pick up floating waste before it get

Israel, which produces 5.4 million tonnes of waste a year, also has the highest birth rate in the developed world. As a result disposable diapers make up a whopping 10% of its trash. The world’s 54th richest country, which has a 25% recycling rate, says it is working with a leading nappy producer to try to develop the world’s first nappy recycling plant.

At 14 and 13 respectively are China’s two special administrative regions, Hong Kong and Macau. In Macau, local waste experts say more than half of the 378,000 annual tonnes of waste comes from the hotel industry; Macau receives 30 million tourists a year. The world’s fourth richest country is also running out of residential space in its tiny 12 square miles, and is struggling to allow for enough waste plants or incinerators.

Think of Switzerland and you imagine fresh mountain air, not six million tonnes of waste. Although the world’s 18th richest country recycles 32% of its waste, the country’s recycling head says rising levels of consumerism are to blame for the sheer amount of waste produced. Most of the country has introduced a tax per bag of rubbish to try to keep waste, but neighbours France and Germany still accuse Swiss ‘rubbish tourists’ of driving over the border to dump their trash.

It is a similar story in the much larger region of Hong Kong, where the seven million residents produce almost six million tonnes of waste annually. While 34% is recycled, that still leaves 0.51 tonnes of MSW per person to manage, compared to mainland China’s tiny 0.15 tonnes. Hong Kong is the 17th richest country in the world.

The US, the world’s 19th richest country, recycles more than a third of its 258 million tonnes of waste. But that still leaves 0.53 tonnes per person to be managed and, since China closed its doors to recycling, the rubbish has been mounting up. In 2017, China bought more than half of the scrap materials exported by the US. Some recycling plants now admit they have stopped sorting plastic and paper and are sending it straight to landfill.

The world’s seventh richest country also has one of the best recycling rates, at 61%, The island city-state turns most of its non-recyclable trash to ash, then ships it to a nearby nature reserve island. But Singapore has a big issue with plastic, its largest category of waste – almost none of which is recycled.

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Canada, the world’s 34th wealthiest country, produces 25 million tonnes of waste a year, or 0.56 tonnes per person (much of it plastic), and currently recycles 21%. But it is a path to reform: its environment ministers last year announced ambitious goals to halve the country’s waste within two decades, with zero waste plastic.

Denmark, the world’s 31st richest country, is seen as a very green country: it is illegal to send waste to landfill if it can be incinerated, and landfilled waste is hit with a tax of €62.56 (£55.25) per tonne. Yet it still produces almost 4.5 million tonnes of waste. More than a quarter is recycled today, and Denmark is on a serious recycling drive, as depicted by this plastic waste fish sculpture in the port of Elsinore.

Malta, the world’s 43rd richest country, has one of the lowest recycling rates in Europe at just 7%. It is one of the member states at risk of missing its 50% 2020 recycling targets, due to a lack of infrastructure and collection systems, coordination and incentives to prevent waste.

Bahrain, the world’s 33rd richest country, is the smallest of the Gulf countries to appear on this list but the biggest waster. The 1.4 million residents produce almost 952,000 tonnes of waste: still 0.61 tonnes per person after just 8% is recycled. A rising population, limited land and fast industrialisation and urbanisation (Bahrain is the most densely populated country in the Gulf) has made waste management an issue. There is just one dump, the 700-acre Askar landfill site.

Iceland’s environment agency says Icelanders throw away a staggering amount of food and drink: 624lbs per person each year. The world’s 25th richest country produces 231,000 tonnes of waste after recycling, or 0.7 tonnes per person. But Iceland, which sent 80% of waste to landfill in 1995, has been on a huge recycling drive and now has one of the highest recycling rates in the world, at 56% of all waste.

Guam, a US island territory in the West Pacific and the world’s 56th richest country, has been struggling with waste management for more than a decade. Operations have been under federal receivership since 2008, after the Guam government failed to close the hazardous Ordot dump in 2008 and build a new landfill. It produces 141,500 tonnes of waste a year and recycles 18%, leaving 0.73 tonnes of waste per person to clear up.

While the UK itself escapes the waste list, producing 0.35 tonnes of MSW per person after recycling annually, the Channel Islands (part of the British Isles) do not, producing almost 179,000 tonnes of waste annually. Guernsey, the second biggest of the Channel Islands, only got a waste plant last year; it was previously exporting waste to Sweden or sending it to landfill. Jersey is considered the 21st richest country in the world and Guernsey the 24th.

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This British Overseas Territory and Caribbean paradise, the world’s 40th richest country, produces 60,000 tonnes of waste annually – a tonne per person before recycling 21%. The 80ft George Town dump in Grand Cayman (ironically, the island’s highest point) has been a public health issue for years, with toxic fires closing nearby schools and businesses. In 2017 plans for a modern waste management system were announced, although no date has yet been given to close the dump.

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European principality Monaco may make rubbish collection fun with hopscotch grids, but it has a major waste issue. The 46,000 tonnes generated by the tiny, ultra-wealthy population (where the per-capita income tops $100,000), and minute 5% recycling rate, means the world’s third richest country has 1.16 tonnes per person to manage. Tourists increase the population tenfold year, thanks to the Grand Prix and casinos, meaning all that rubbish is not coming from residents alone.

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Bermuda, another British overseas territory and the sixth richest country in the world, is the biggest offender on our waste list. The 82,000 islanders on the British territory of Bermuda trash 1.24 tonnes of waste per person annually after recycling – and recycle a miniscule 2%. But the famed pink-sand beaches do have one massive problem: plastic pollution from the ocean washing up on shore. From 2022, Bermuda is completely banning single-use plastic in an attempt to clean up.

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