Recent resonant waste management cases in Vilnius remind us that individual crises are often the result of an inefficiently functioning system. Waste suitable for recycling in Lithuania is still too often incinerated or disposed of in landfills instead of being returned to the economy. For the situation to change, it is necessary to timely develop the collection infrastructure for food, textiles, and other waste, increase recycling capacities, and ensure reliable data for decision-making.
The system must provide conditions for sorting, but residents themselves must also use these opportunities more actively, as too much recyclable waste still ends up in mixed waste containers,” says State Controller Irena Segalovičienė.
We sort more, but still recycle too little
Although residents are sorting more actively, a large portion of recyclable waste is still lost – it ends up in the mixed municipal waste stream and is ultimately incinerated or disposed of in landfills.
The 2023 audit showed that although the share of residents sorting waste increased from 40 to 60 percent between 2016 and 2021, a lot of recyclable waste still ended up in mixed municipal waste – packaging and other secondary raw materials accounted for about a third of their volume. In 2021, there were 240.2 thousand tons of such waste in mixed municipal waste, but only 8.5 percent of the waste was prepared for recycling. The majority was incinerated or taken to landfills.
The audit also revealed significant differences between municipalities in organizing waste management. Average monthly expenses per resident ranged from 0.8 Eur in Rokiškis district to 4 Eur in Molėtai district, and in 19 municipalities, waste collection services were not provided to all residents.
First concrete changes after the audit
After the State Control audit, the first concrete changes are already visible. Uniform criteria have been introduced in all 60 municipalities to assess whether waste management services are provided to residents. This creates conditions for more uniform evaluation of service accessibility throughout Lithuania.
Control over imported municipal waste has also been strengthened – measures have been planned to ensure that imported municipal waste is recycled rather than incinerated or disposed of in landfills.
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Work still unfinished for greater waste recycling
One of the most important pending changes is increased recycling and reuse of municipal waste. During the audit, 596 thousand tons, or 44.33 percent of municipal waste, were recycled annually in the country. Implementing the audit recommendations aims to enable additional recycling of 128.2 thousand tons of waste per year by the end of 2029.
To achieve this, waste recycling infrastructure must be updated and expanded to recycle more textiles, furniture, plastics, packaging, biological, electronic, and other waste.
Waste management still lacks data
Reliable and comparable data are necessary to see how municipal waste is managed in municipalities and regions and where changes are needed. After the audit, guidelines were prepared on how to fill out and submit annual reports on municipal waste management systems in municipalities and regions in the Unified Product, Packaging, and Waste Accounting Information System (GPAIS). Data submission forms in GPAIS were also updated, and the information submission procedure was changed. However, not all municipalities submitted annual reports for 2025.
Data from all municipalities in the country would allow more accurate assessment of waste flows, planning of necessary capacities, and making informed decisions about the entire waste management system.
The State Control will continue to monitor how audit recommendations are implemented and whether planned changes are achieved.
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