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The increasing quantity of waste results from increase in consumption, new manufacturing techniques and technologies. In general, the EU generates huge quantity of different types of waste. On average, more than 400 kg of municipal waste per capita is generated yearly in Europe. If we consider an issue of environmental pollution and sustainable development, there is a question to be asked if and how much of generated pollution the nature is able to "absorb" and neutralise. Nobody is able to establish limit values for environmental pollution including waste collection. It seems that the level in question has already been exceeded because of negative environmental impact. Therefore, there is an important question, how could we decrease production and consumption in order to generate lower quantity of waste or recycle them appropriately and use again. Changes in waste generation in the EU countries since 2000 to 2015 have been presented in the study. Legal regulations concerning waste management have been discussed. Attention has been paid to waste quantity per capita and level of waste recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]