Waste statistics

The Waste Statistics Regulation stipulates in Article 8(3) that the Commission shall, within two years after the entry into force of this Regulation, submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the progress of the pilot studies referred to in Article 4(3) and Article 5(1). This report meets this requirement.

In addition to the mandatory pilot studies, Member States are invited to carry out pilot studies on ‘Packaging waste’ and on ‘Preparatory operations’. The Commission will, if required, use the results and conclusions from these ‘voluntary’ pilot studies to adopt further necessary implementation measures.

On the basis of the conclusions of the pilot studies, the Commission must inform the European Parliament and the Council of the possibilities of compiling statistics for the activities and characteristics covered by the pilot studies for import and export of waste.

One of the main questions for the pilot studies on import and export of waste is the level of detail to appear in the statistics. This is related to a second question on how the reporting obligation of the Waste Shipment Regulation should be incorporated into the Waste Statistics Regulation. In other words, could the data on the import and export of (hazardous) waste reported under the Waste Shipment Regulation be used as an input for statistics? A third question raised was how to collect data on the import and export of non-hazardous waste. Although this so-called “green” list waste is incorporated in the Waste Shipment Regulation, it does not fall under the reporting obligation.

The report discusses the methodology used by the Commission, and the terms of reference.

As statistics on waste from agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishery are not compiled on a regular basis in most Member States, special emphasis has been directed towards pilot studies on this subject.

The report provides an overview of the pilot studies.

The first results from the pilot studies on statistics on import and export of waste demonstrate that although foreign trade statistics have been identified as the best source they do not provide a full set of data that can be used to complement the data covered by the Waste Shipment Regulation. For a number of waste categories for which statistics are to be compiled a concrete solution has not been identified yet and therefore further studies would be necessary.

With regard to statistics on waste from agriculture, hunting, forestry and fisheries a large variety of waste streams have to be considered and the most crucial issue is to what extent bio-organic waste will be covered by waste statistics. Another essential aspect is the treatment of waste within the agricultural sector and the extent to which this is included in the waste statistics.

For both fields of pilot studies another call for proposals will be launched in 2005. The terms of reference will be adapted taking into account the experience acquired so far.