79% of people in Latvia sort their waste - survey

RIGA - This year, as two years ago, 79 percent of the population in Latvia sorts household waste, representatives of Latvijas Zalais Punkts told LETA, citing the company's survey data.

Similarly to 2022, 68 percent of the respondents who sort waste in Latvia cite environmental concerns as the main reason for doing so. 45 percent of respondents said that having sorting containers close to their homes encourages sorting, while 34 percent said that the opportunity to save money on the cost of sorted waste collection encourages sorting.

Of the respondents who sort household waste, 84 percent sort glass bottles and jars, 80 percent sort plastic packaging, 74 percent sort paper and cardboard, 69 percent sort batteries and 57 percent sort cans or metal cans.

Compared to the 2022 survey results, the share of people sorting end-of-life electrical appliances has increased by three percentage points to 44 percent, while the share of respondents sorting organic waste has increased from 29 percent to 42 percent and the share of people sorting textiles has increased from 19 percent to 30 percent.

Similarly, 60 percent of those who do not sort household waste in the survey indicated that they would do so if the necessary conditions were provided - if waste sorting containers were placed near their homes. However, as before, the majority of respondents, 82 percent, have never approached the waste manager or the municipality to request the provision of sorting containers near their home.

The survey found that 51 percent of respondents were previously unaware that electronic cigarettes could pose significant fire safety risks if disposed of incorrectly, while 71 percent would generally support the proposal to introduce a deposit system for electronic cigarettes.

In the survey, 64 percent said that they try to reduce the amount of waste they produce in addition to sorting on a daily basis. This figure has been steadily increasing since the 2020 survey when this question was first asked.

The survey Waste Sorting Habits was commissioned by Latvijas Zalais Punkts and carried out by SKDS in November and December 2024 among 1,003 Latvian residents aged 18-75.

In 2023, Latvijas Zalais Punkts had a turnover of EUR 12.668 million, up 21.3 percent year-on-year, while its profit rose 31.7 percent to EUR 2.843 million.

The company was registered in 2000 and its share capital is EUR 1.084 million, according to Firmas.lv. The owner of Latvijas Zalais Punkts is Eco Baltia Vide.