Generation and management of waste – statistics and accounts

1. Generation and management of waste – statistics and accounts

2. What are waste accounts? Physical waste accounts are physical accounts of waste generation and waste management in which quantities of generated/treated waste are cross-classified by economic activity and waste type (category) and combined with activity specific economic information. Monetary waste accounts show the economic transactions associated with the income generated by the provision of waste management services and sales of recyclable/recoverable waste material, and the intermediate and final consumption expenditure on waste management services and purchase of recyclable/recoverable waste products in monetary terms. This presentation focuses on physical waste accounts.

3. Why waste accounting? Waste accounts enable waste flows to be traced through the economy, from generation to final disposal. The construction of solid waste accounts allows waste statistics to be placed in a broader context with economic data in both physical and monetary terms. Integrated waste accounts enable identification of the socio-economic drivers, pressures, impacts and responses that affect the environment. They provide indicators that express the relationship between the environment and the economy.

4. Definition of solid waste Solid waste covers discarded materials that are no longer required by the owner or user. This definition includes materials that are in solid or liquid state but excludes wastewater and emissions to the air. Materials that are directly recycled at the unit that generated them (internal recycling) are excluded.

5. Distinction between residual and product flows of solid waste • Where the unit discarding the materials receives no payment for the materials then the flow is considered a residual flow of solid waste. • Where the unit discarding the material receives a payment but the actual residual value of the material is small, for example in the case of scrap metal sold to a recycling firm, this flow is considered a product flow of solid waste. • Discarded materials sold as second hand products – for example the sale of a second hand car of furniture – should be treated as flows of products and not treated as solid waste. In the determination of whether a material is second hand product, consideration may be given to the extent to which the receiving unit can use the product again for the same purpose for which it was conceived.

6. Economy – environment boundary Waste accounting follows a strict distinction between the economy and the environment, and flows within the economy and between the economy and the environment.

7. Resident principle Waste statistics usually include all waste generated within the boundaries of the country. Waste accounts apply the resident principle of national accounts, e.g. refer to all sources of waste that take part in an economy of a country whether operating within the national territory or abroad. This means adding waste generation by residents operating abroad and deduct waste generated by non-residents in the national territory.

8. Classification of solid waste • There is no standard international statistical classification of solid waste. • The European List of Wastes and its statistical version have been developed for use in the EU waste regulation and for statistical reporting by EU member (and some other) countries. • In practice, in many countries, statistics on solid waste will be based on legal or administrative lists of materials determined to be solid wastes. However, the definition and the principles described in the previous slide should provide the a basis for measurement of solid waste in countries where legal and administrative processes concerning waste do not exist or are limited in scope. • The SEEA-CF uses – for illustrative purposes – an indicative listing of types of solid waste based on the European Waste Classification – Statistical version (EWC-Stat).

9. Classification of economic activities • The economic activities that supply (generate) and use (treat) waste are classified according to International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) (Europe: NACE)

10. The structure of the solid waste accounts • The structure of the solid waste accounts follows the logic of a supply and use table. • For each row of the supply and use table the following identity holds: total supply = total use

11. The physical supply table • The physical supply table shows the supply of solid waste generated by industries (classified by ISIC) and households. It also shows the supply of solid waste from the rest of the world (recorded as imports) and also solid waste recovered from the environment (for example, oil recovered following an oil spill and moved to the economy for treatment). • The supply of solid waste in the economy is expressed as mass (1000 tons). • While the upper half of the supply table shows the generation of solid waste residuals, the bottom part shows the generation of solid waste products, by waste type.

12. The columns and rows of the physical supply table • The columns of the physical supply table: • Generation of solid waste by: • Waste collection, treatment and disposal industry (by treatment activity) • Other industries (e.g. agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, services) • Households • Rest of the world: imports of solid waste • Flows from the environment: residuals recovered from the environment • TOTAL SUPPLY • The rows of the physical supply table: • Solid waste residuals by waste type • Solid waste products by waste type

13. The physical use table The physical use table highlights the various activities within the waste collection, treatment and disposal industry. These are landfill operation, incineration of solid waste (of which incineration to produce energy is separately identified), recycling and reuse activities, and other treatment of solid waste. Other treatments include the use of physical-chemical processes, the use of mechanical-biological processes, and the storage of radioactive waste. More industry detail may be produced depending on analytical needs and available information. It also shows the similar activities undertaken by other industries as secondary or own-account production. It also shows the shows the flow of solid waste to the rest of the world as exports and the flow of solid waste direct to the environment.

14. The physical use table (continued) The use of solid waste in the economy is expressed as mass (1000 tons). While the upper half of the use table shows the “use” (collection and disposal) of solid waste residuals, the bottom part shows the use of solid waste products, by waste type.

15. The columns and rows of the physical use table The columns of the physical use table: Intermediate consumption: collection of residuals Waste collection, treatment and disposal industry Landfill Incineration Total Of which: incineration to generate energy Recycling and reuse Other treatment Other industries (Final consumption: Households) Use by the rest of the world: exports of waste Flows to the environment (direct disposal to the environment) TOTAL USE The rows of the physical use table: Solid waste residuals by waste type Solid waste products by waste type

16. Flows of solid waste products As it was shown, in the second part of the supply table, “Generation of solid waste products” and in the second part of the use table, “Use of solid waste products”, the flows of solid waste that are products rather than residuals are recorded, following the distinction described earlier. The flows recorded here relate to cases when a solid waste product is identified at the time of disposal by the discarding unit. The flows recorded in the second part of the supply table are matched by the use of solid waste products in the second part of the use table. Sales of scrap metal would be recorded in this way.

17. Statistics needed for the physical waste accounts • Generation of waste by waste type, by economic activity and by treatment and disposal • Exports and imports of waste by waste type, treatment and disposal • Recovery of waste from the environment for treatment

18. Sources of data • Waste inventories, waste surveys, household surveys • Usually not cover all sources and all waste types, not cover information on treatment and disposal • Surveys of the Waste collection, treatment and disposal industry • Usually not cover information on origin • International trade statistics • Not cover information on treatment and disposal Therefore a significant amount of estimation and modeling is required to provide the data and reorganize them according to the accounting principles.

19. Thank you for your attention