You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The graph below shows the total amount of waste produced by cities and towns of six countries in 1980, 1990 and 2000. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Model Answer
The given table illustrates the total amount of waste generated in million tonnes by urban areas of Japan, Korea, Ireland, Portugal, Poland and the USA, over a period of two decades. A cursory glance at the table is enough to make it clear that the USA generated the maximum waste over the given period of time.
In 1980, Japan produced 0.6 million tonnes of waste, which was the least among the given six countries. No figures are given for Korea. From 1980 to 1990, the waste generated by Portugal and Poland increased minimally from 2 and 9 million tonnes to 3 and 10 million tonnes respectively. The waste from Australia increased considerably from 141 million tonnes in 1980 to 213 million tonnes in 1990. There was sharp increase in the waste generated in Ireland from 20 to 41 million tonnes from 1980 to 1990. The data for Japan is not available for 1990.
The decade from 1990 to 2000, however did not see such a profound escalation in the amount of waste as the previous decade. Interestingly, Korea produces far lesser waste (19 million tonnes) in 2000 than in 1990 (31 million tonnes). In Poland, the waste was almost the same as in 1990. Ireland, Portugal and the USA saw a moderate growth in the amount of waste produced.
Overall, although Japan is one country where the waste grew five times from the figures of 1980, but still it produced the minimum waste among the given six countries throughout the entire period.