IELTS Task 1: Waste & Recycling by Country (Bar Chart)
The Task
The bar chart below shows the amount of waste (in kilograms per person per year) produced in five countries in 2020, divided into recycled and non-recycled waste. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
Sample Band 8 Response
159 wordsModel answer written by EduForEveryone — for guidance only. Not an official examiner response.
The stacked bar chart shows the amount of waste, in kilograms per person per year, produced by five countries in 2020, divided into recycled and non-recycled portions.
Overall, the country generating the most waste recycled the smallest proportion of it, whereas countries producing less waste tended to recycle a greater share, suggesting an inverse relationship between total waste and recycling rates.
Country 1 produced by far the most waste, at 550 kg per person, yet recycled only 30% of it, leaving the largest quantity of non-recycled waste of any country. At the other extreme, Country 4 produced just 350 kg per person and recycled 65% of it — the highest recycling rate in the group.
Country 5 generated the least waste overall at 300 kg, though it recycled a relatively modest 40%. Countries 2 and 3 occupied the middle ground, producing 480 kg and 400 kg respectively and recycling well over half of their waste, at 60% and 55%.