Latvia’s household waste management system is already facing serious challenges. Although sorting infrastructure has improved in recent years and part of the society is actively sorting waste, 118 thousand tonnes of waste were still landfilled at the “Getliņi” landfill site in 2025 – 31% less than in 2024 – and the volume of landfilled waste still remains high. These figures show that Latvia is not close to the European Union’s goals, which require that by 2035 no more than 10% of generated municipal waste may be sent to landfill, while at least 65% must be recycled or reused. This gap shows that today’s actions are already affecting future infrastructure, finances and the environment, and future generations will have to deal with the consequences that we can still reduce today.

This problem is not only local – it is part of a global trend. “More than 2 billion tonnes of municipal waste are generated worldwide every year, and, according to a World Bank report, this amount is projected to increase by another 70% by 2050. This means that waste management will become one of the most important infrastructure and environmental challenges worldwide in the future,” warns Lilija Dukaļska, Head of the Environmental Management Department at “Getliņi EKO”. Latvia is not isolated in this context – the more we landfill today instead of recycling, the greater the pressure will be on future infrastructure, resources and the environment.

We risk needing to build new landfill sites

“Landfills are not simply waste storage locations – they are complex infrastructure facilities that require ongoing maintenance, environmental monitoring and development. In order to ensure waste disposal for the next 10 years, a new waste storage cell is already being built at “Getliņi”, and construction alone will cost approximately EUR 20 million,” says Lilija Dukaļska, Head of the Environmental Management Department at “Getliņi EKO”. “This is only the beginning, because landfill capacity is limited, and if existing infrastructure becomes overloaded, new landfills will have to be built in the future. Building them in Latvia would involve complex environmental assessments, lengthy administrative processes and potential public resistance, which could delay project development.”

At the same time, it is important to remember that responsibility for waste does not end when a landfill is closed. Residents and the state will have to take into account that closed landfills must still be monitored and managed for at least thirty years in order to control the leakage of leachate, gases and other pollutants into the environment. This means long-term financial investment, maintenance of monitoring systems and environmental protection measures that will continue to require resources even after the landfill is no longer in use. This post-closure monitoring is essential to protect groundwater, soil and the surrounding environment, but it also highlights how long future generations will have to deal with the consequences of the waste produced today. Today’s actions affect how quickly landfills fill up, how often new cells need to be built, and how expensive waste management will be in the future.

Higher management costs, less money left in every household’s budget

Household waste, as well as similar waste from offices, shops and other sources – so-called “municipal waste” – makes up 27% of the total volume of waste generated in the European Union (European Court of Auditors data, 2025). In Latvia, the cost of household waste management is still relatively low, but it is significantly affected by how much unsorted waste reaches landfills. Unsorted waste means additional mechanical sorting, higher transport costs, faster filling of landfill cells and a more frequent need to build new infrastructure. Each of these stages creates costs – from collection and transfer to disposal and environmental protection measures. The higher the share of unsorted waste, the greater the technical and financial burden on the system as a whole.

If waste continues not to be sorted, this burden will increase not only for infrastructure, but also for society. Additional investments will be needed in sorting lines, biological waste processing, transport logistics and expanding landfill capacity. In the long term, these costs cannot be absorbed without revising waste disposal tariffs, because the waste management system must be able to cover its operating and maintenance costs. As a result, today’s sorting habits directly affect how efficient and financially balanced the system will be in the future and what level of costs society as a whole will have to bear.

Waste sorting is not just a formality

Proper waste sorting today is a way to reduce the scale of future challenges. Every item of waste that is sorted correctly – packaging, biodegradable materials, textiles and glass – extends the operating life of the landfill, reduces the need to build new cells and helps preserve natural resources. This approach not only reduces the future financial burden, but also ensures that materials are returned to the economy instead of simply being buried, generating greenhouse gases and long-term environmental pollution.

Of course, not all challenges can be solved through proper waste sorting alone – waste management and recycling technologies must also continue to develop – but changing residents’ sorting habits is an essential and inseparable part of this overall process if we want to face tomorrow without new landfills and without a greater burden on our finances.

“Sort not throw it away!” – the kind of world we will live in tomorrow depends entirely on our own actions and on where we choose to place the comma in this call to action. If waste sorting becomes a part of everyday habits and is practiced consistently, future generations will find it easier to maintain efficient waste management, reduce the pressure on landfills and ensure a high-quality living environment. Today’s choices determine what the future will look like and show that responsibility for the environment and resources begins with our own actions at home and in our communities,” Dukaļska urges.

To motivate the public and encourage proper waste sorting, campaigns such as “Everything must be sorted! Everything” (“Jāšķiro ir viss! Un viss”) are being implemented. Their aim is not only to remind people about the need to sort waste, but also to explain how to correctly sort different types of waste. These initiatives help people understand that sorting is not just a formality, but a real action that affects the future infrastructure load, environmental quality and the sustainability of resources.