Beginning in 1988, when 185.9 million tonnes of industrial waste was produced, the amount of waste generated began to fall. In 1995 the amount of waste produced fell by 34% and the amount of waste directed to landfills dropped by 30%. This is the result especially of factories that were highly "waste-creating". At the same time some plants that were the biggest environmental hazards were closed. In other plants, new waste saving technologies were introduced. From the point of view of environmental protection, this is a positive breakthrough.

Based on data from the Central Statistical Office, (Table – with information about acumulated municipal waste) presents information on the removal of municipal wastes and their harmlessness in the municipal landfills. According to statistical data concerning the disposal of municipal waste the amount of waste thrown away fell from about 46 million m³ in 1989 to about 41 milion m³ in 1991. This data does not reflect the actual amount municipal waste produced because of the changes in the organization of disposal at that time (start-up of private sector companies which do not report the amount of waste they dispose of) as well as the decrease in the number of contracts signed with waste disposal services. The decrease was caused by the increase of service prices.

The great increase in the amount of consumer packaging, increase of the use of plastics, and an increased supply of garbage-creating products (bananas, citrus fruits, small portions of food in disposable packages, etc.) lead to a rapid increase in the accumulation of waste. This is confirmed by the increase in landfills surface size, as well as by the catastrophic state of the cleanliness of our forests, roadsides, river banks and others.

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