IELTS Academic Task1 12th September 2020

The graph below shows four methods of dealing with waste in four countries. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

The given bar graph illustrates the data on four different waste disposal methods used in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

Overall, it can be seen that the most preferred method of waste disposal is landfilling in all the countries except the Netherlands, where a majority of the waste is actually recycled.

In detail, recycling accounts for nearly two-thirds of the waste disposed of in the Netherlands. By contrast, the figure for Italy is 20 % and for the remaining two countries is a mere 10%. In landfilling also, the Netherlands is an outlier, with less than 10% of the waste being disposed of using this method. In comparison, Italy and Spain landfill 40% of waste, and in the UK the figure stands considerably higher at around 70%.

In regard to disposal by using chemicals, there is no significant difference in the figures, with each country sending around 10 to 20% of their waste for chemical treatment. Moving to the waste burnt, it stands at less than 10% for the Netherlands and the UK, while for Spain and Italy, it is 30% and 22% respectively.