Waste from manufacturing industries

Waste is defined in accordance with Section 27 of the Pollution Control Act: "Waste is understood as discarded movable objects or substances. Waste also includes surplus movable objects and substances from services, production, and treatment facilities, etc. Wastewater and exhaust gases are not considered waste."

By-product is a substance or object resulting from a production process, which is not primarily aimed at producing this substance or object, and can only be considered not to be waste but a by-product if the following conditions are met:

a) it is certain that the substance or object will be used further,

b) the substance or object can be used directly without any further processing other than normal industrial practice,

c) the substance or object is produced as an integral part of a production process, and

d) further use is lawful, i.e., the substance or object meets all relevant product, environmental, and health requirements for the specific use, and will not have general negative impacts on the environment or human health.

Treatment/disposal of waste is a physical, chemical, or biological change of the waste for resource utilization or neutralization (material recycling, composting, or incineration), or final disposal (landfill, dumping, export, and reuse) at an approved facility.

Landfilling is the final disposal of waste at an approved landfill site.

Energy recovery is the utilization of the energy released during waste incineration, for example, for heating buildings, and is calculated as the percentage of utilized energy in relation to the amount of energy produced.

Hazardous waste is waste that requires special treatment according to the Waste Regulations and is defined based on the European Waste List (EWL) and the content of hazardous properties (Appendix 2 to Chapter 11 of the Waste Regulations). Hazardous waste includes a variety of materials and products but is considered one material type in the waste accounts.

Handling includes everything done with the waste, from discarding it to final disposal.

Composting is the breakdown of waste by living organisms, where the breakdown occurs with access to oxygen. Composting of ordinary waste is considered recycling.

Material refers to substances with relatively similar physical and chemical properties. The classification by material follows the Norwegian standard for waste classification (NS 9431).

Material recycling is the utilization of waste so that the material is retained wholly or partially. An example is the production of raw paper from collected recycled paper and composting of food waste.

Industry refers to the two-digit level in the Standard for Industrial Classification (SN2007), which is based on NACE.

Production is the value of goods and services from domestic production activity, i.e., from market-oriented activities, production for own use, and non-market-oriented activities in public administration and non-profit organizations.

Production of goods and services is not the same as the sale of goods and services. Production is published in basic value, i.e., product subsidies are included, but not VAT or other product taxes (see basic value).

In public administration and other non-market-oriented activities, production is determined as the sum of labor costs, net production taxes, capital depreciation, and intermediate consumption.

Production waste is waste that differs significantly in type or quantity from consumer waste.

Sludge consists of particles mixed with varying amounts of water, resulting in a more or less liquid mixture. The particles can be both organic and inorganic. Sludge is generated in many different processes: production of paper and cardboard, food production, metal processing, and wastewater treatment are important examples of processes that generate sludge. In industrial waste statistics, wastewater sludge is measured in dry weight.

Stratification means dividing a population into subgroups (strata), e.g., by industry and size.

Textiles are products made from natural and synthetic fibers that are spun, woven, knitted, or otherwise processed. Leather and synthetic leather are also considered textiles.

Wet organic waste is easily degradable organic waste, such as food waste and discarded residues from the food industry.

The classification by material and treatment is based on the Norwegian Standard for Waste Classification (NS 9431).
The industry grouping is based on the revised Norwegian Standard for Industry Classification (SN2007), which is aligned with the EU’s industry standard NACE Rev. 2. For the 2008 dataset, the figures are based on both the SN2002 and SN2007 industry standards.