Large reporting discrepencies in Bulgarian waste collection data, new report says
Brussels, 19 March 2025 – A report published by Za Zamiata and Zero Waste Europe reveals the stark parallel realities in Bulgaria’s plastic packaging waste management, where official recycling statistics paint a misleadingly optimistic picture that clashes with on-the-ground failures.
The new report, “Parallel realities: Managing plastic packaging waste in Bulgaria beyond official statistics”, reveals significant discrepancies in waste data reporting across Bulgarian institutions.
Bulgaria’s official reports to Eurostat claim an above-average recycling rate for plastic packaging waste (50.6% in 2019), but local data tells a different story. Many municipalities fail to meet the EU’s 50% recycling target for municipal waste, with over half—132 municipalities—reporting recycling rates below 10% in 2019, and 43 recording practically zero.
The Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (NSI) and Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) report drastically different figures. In 2022, the NSI reported 148,367 tonnes of plastic packaging waste, while PROs reported 105,359 tonnes of plastic packaging released on the market by their members – a difference of 43,008 tonnes, or 30% less according to PROs. Similarly in 2020, PROs underreported plastic packaging placed on the market by approximately 78%.
Larissa Copello, Packaging & Reuse Policy Officer at Zero Waste Europe, states:
“This is a European problem. Last year, Zero Waste Europe brought attention to the problem in Spain, exposing how the packaging PRO was misreporting collection data. As a direct result, the Spanish Government announced the introduction of a nationwide deposit return system to meet its recycling targets. It is urgent that the EU creates the right tools and rules to guarantee proper oversight and reporting. A European organisation in charge of compliance monitoring is needed.”
Evgeniya Tasheva, Zero Waste Team at Za Zamiata, states:
“This report raises serious concerns about underreporting or misreporting by PROs, but the real issue lies in the lack of adequate monitoring, controls, and sufficient legal requirements. Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging in Bulgaria fails to cover the true costs of managing packaging waste. As a result, these costs are unfairly shifted onto citizens. Bulgarians end up paying more than many other EU citizens for inferior service.”
These transparency issues with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes will continue to happen unless the EU addresses these governance and power imbalances in EPR systems by creating an independent EU watchdog to monitor PROs performance, ensure accountability and transparency, and engage a broader range of stakeholders, like municipalities, in their governance.
Both Za Zamiata and the environmental network Zero Waste Europe are calling for a systemic overhaul of Bulgaria’s plastic packaging waste management system, and at the EU level a reform of EPR systems, with a focus on data transparency, stricter regulation, and a shift toward true circular economy practices in the scope of the upcoming European Commission’s proposal Circular Economy Act. See Zero Waste Europe’s recommendations here.
ENDS
Notes to the editor
Link to the full report: “Parallel realities: Managing plastic packaging waste in Bulgaria beyond official statistics”: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/parallel-realities-managing-plastic-packaging-waste-in-bulgaria-beyond-official-statistics/
This report was originally published by Za Zamiata in October 2024 in Bulgarian. You can find the link here: https://www.zazemiata.org/resources/epr-in-bg-report-2024/
Original press release [22 October 2024, in Bulgarian]: https://www.zazemiata.org/pressrelease-paralelnata-realnost/
Eurostat official data: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/page/ENV_WASPACR
Zero Waste Europe’s policy recommendations for the EU’s Circular Economy Act: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/circular-economy-act-policy-recommendations/
Press release, “Bulgarian court rules out Sofia waste incinerator plant due to unassessed health risks and lack of public consultation” [26 Sep 2023]: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/press-release/bulgarian-court-rules-out-sofia-waste-incinerator-plant-due-to-unassessed-health-risks-and-lack-of-public-consultation/
Zero Waste Europe and its member Retorna previously issued a report, followed by large-scale demonstrations calling on the European Commission to stop false reporting of collection and recycling data in 2024.
- Zero Waste Europe’s previous report on Spain’s plastic bottle reporting: “Analysis of the Separate Collection Rate of Plastic Beverage Bottles of up to three litres in Spain” [Published 29 May 2024]: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/library/analysis-of-the-separate-collection-rate-of-plastic-beverage-bottles-up-to-three-litres-in-spain/
- Press release on Spain’s misreporting: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/press-release/wake-up-call-for-the-spanish-government-fake-results-on-plastic-recycling-prompts-demands-for-deposit-return-system-in-spain
- Zero Waste Europe’s demonstration in fron the European Commission calling for transparency [24 September 2024]: https://zerowasteeurope.eu/press-release/retorna-stop-fake-reporting-zero-waste-europe/
About Zero Waste Europe
Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) is the European network of communities, local leaders, experts, and change agents working towards a better use of resources and the elimination of waste in our society. We advocate for sustainable systems; for the redesign of our relationship with resources; and for a global shift towards environmental justice, accelerating a just transition towards zero waste for the benefit of people and the planet. www.zerowasteeurope.eu