Hazardous waste, 2015

National

Annual

Eurostat (EU regulation 2150/2002 on waste statistics) OECD/Eurostat (Joint Questionnaire)

Basic data and calculations are stored in SAS and UNIX.

The main purpose of the hazardous waste statistics is to provide a comprehensive overview of the amounts of hazardous waste in Norway divided by type of industry, treatment and material. It addition it should also provide updated estimates on hazardous waste for which the method of handling is unknown.

Originally the statistics on hazardous waste sent for external treatment or export was carried out by the organisation called Norsas (Norwegian Resource Centre for Waste Management and Recycling). They started up with the task in 1989, assigned by the Norwegian Environment Agency.

In 1994, Norsas estimated the total amount of hazardous waste in Norway and concluded that 30 000 tonnes were handled in unknown ways. This estimate stayed until 2002, when Statistics Norway published its first hazardous waste statistics for the reference year 1999. Since that time statistics of hazardous waste has been an annual publication in Statistics Norway.

In 2004, Statistics Norway carried out a new survey on the treatment of hazardous waste. Treatment companies constituted the sample group, and the reference year was 2003. Before that time the treatment dimension was not part of the statistics.

The figures are used by Norwegian Environment Agency in compilations of key figures used in the reports to the Storting on the state of the environment. The figures constitute the main source for Norway's reporting of hazardous waste statistics to Eurostat and the OECD. In addition, the statistics on hazardous waste constitute an integrated part of the waste account for Norway.

Not relevant

The statistics of hazardous waste is input into the following statistics:

• Waste accounts (https://www.ssb.no/en/avfregno)
• Waste from service industry (https://www.ssb.no/en/avfhandel)
• Waste from building and construction (https://www.ssb.no/en/avfbygganl)

In addition, hazardous waste is also mentioned in the Waste from households (https://www.ssb.no/en/avfkomm), although the data source differs here.

It is also regularly reported to Eurostat and OECD, and is therefore also part of international statistics and comparisons.

The Statistics Act of 16 June 1989 No. 54

Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2002 on waste statistics

The statistics include hazardous waste as defined by the Waste regulation, §11-3, which entered into force on 24 June 2004.

Notice that EE-waste, contagious wast and end-of-life vehichles are not included in the hazardous waste statistics.

Hazardous waste for approved treatment

Hazardous waste for approved treatment is built around two data aggregations – the Foundation database and Treatment survey – and each of them consist of several sub-datasources:

 1. Foundation database (Grunnlagsdatabasen)

     1a) Electronic declarations of hazardous waste (earlier NorBas + Batteriregisteret)

     1b) Forurensning – self-treatment in the manufacturing industry (earlier Inkosys)

     1c) Export of hazardous Waste

 2. Treatment survey (Behandlingsundersøkelsen)

     2a) Forurensning

        - Treatment of hazardous waste («Hovedundersøkelsen»)

    - Self-treatment in the manufacturing industry (earlier Inkosys)

     2b) Energy consumption in the manufacturing industry

     2c) Waste treatment survey (Avfallshåndteringsundersøkelsen)

     2d) Import and export of hazardous Waste

The Foundation database consist of mainly producers of hazardous waste, while the Treatment survey includes waste amounts received and treated at the treatment plants.

Data input has changed somewhat during the start-up of the hazardous waste statistics in 1999 (as explained below).

Foundation database

In 1999, the Foundation database was built up from four different registers: the declaration database (NorBas) covering literally all hazardous waste handed in for approved treatment in Norway, which is administered by Norsas and owned by the Norwegian Environment Agency, Forurensning (which means pollution, previously named Inkosys - the manufacturing industry's self-reporting system covering hazardous waste treated on site) and the Import/export-database administered and owned by the Norwegian Environment Agency, and a register on collected batteries (Batteriregisteret) administered and owned by AS Batteriretur. Data from these four registers were collected and processed by SSB.

In 2015 however the electronic declarations system was established and that datasource now covers data that previously came from NorBas and Batteriregisteret.

Documentation report (in Norwegian only): http://www.ssb.no/natur-og-miljo/artikler-og-publikasjoner/grunnlagsdatabasen

Treatment survey

The main data source in this context is a survey of Norwegian treatment enterprises (Hovedundersøkelsen), which is a census covering all existing plants with a treatment permit from the Norwegian Environment Agency. The data collection started out in 2003 as a Statistics Norway survey, but f the reference year 2012 and onwards the Norwegian Environment Agency took over the data collection by their Klifinn data collection portal. It is done in cooperation with Statistics Norway, and the data are shared.

The amount of hazardous waste collected and treated in the reference year is reported according to waste groups by the enterprises. The data from Hovedundersøkelsen are complemented with data on incineration of used oils from the survey "Energy use in the manufacturing sector", on hazardous waste disposed of at treatment plants for ordinary waste from the survey "Waste treatment and disposal", hazardous waste treated on site from the register Forurensning, and imported and exported waste from the Import/export-database.

Documentation report (in Norwegian only): http://www.ssb.no/natur-og-miljo/artikler-og-publikasjoner/behandling-av-farlig-avfall

Unknown handling

The amount of hazardous waste, for which the method of handling is unknown, is calculated by different methods. Parts of the amount are calculated by material. These calculations are based on Statistics Norway's figures on external trade and manufacturing, literature (among others the Norwegian Pollution Authority 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003a, PCB-sanering 2004, Norsas 2004 and Evans 2001), and telephone contact and meetings with central parties. The remaining is principally calculated by industry. Hazardous waste amounts with unknown handling from the different industries are residuals derived from the Foundation database and Statistics Norway's Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises (VoF).

Statistics Norway do not provide figures on total generated amount of hazardous waste. The reason is that a substantial fraction of the amount of hazardous waste defined as unknown handling is believed to in part be covered by the figures on hazardous waste going to approved treatment. However, the fraction is not known.

Parts of the data are collected by questionnaires to treatment enterprises. Some data are collected through special inquiries to persons with special competences within different industries or material groups, while the remaining data are collected from existing registers and literature.

The information acquired from the Treatment survey has been checked against corresponding data from the previous years. The identity of the establishments in the Foundation database is automatically and manually controlled against the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises. The waste classification in Forurensning and the Import/export-database is translated manually from LoW, the Y-list and OECD's waste codes to waste numbers (Norwegian standard 9431). The calculated amounts are controlled against available literature where available. The part of export coming from Norwegian waste collectors is removed from the Import/export-database before use in the Foundation database to avoid double counting. Additionally all import is removed. Incineration of used oil on site is removed from Forurensning before use in the Treatment survey to avoid double counting.

The treatment survey serves as a control of the registers and vice versa.

Hazardous waste going to approved treatment is calculated through the collocation and aggregation of data from the Treatment survey and the Foundation database. The Treatment survey is used to distribute the amount of hazardous waste treated as approved by material and type of treatment. The Foundation database is used to distribute the waste by industry. The total amount treated as approved is calculated from either of the two showing the highest amount, as under-reporting until now has been the dominating source of error. The figures reported to the Treatment survey are corrected by means of the Import/export-database if the figures are reported to include import and export of hazardous waste. They are also adjusted if the same amount of waste is treated more than once in the waste chain, by means of reported figures on the amount of treated hazardous waste sent on to another treatment enterprise as hazardous waste for further treatment.

Hazardous waste with unknown handling is mainly calculated by material from the following equation:

au = SUM((f n c) - aa)

au = amount to unknown handling. f = factor for the amount of hazardous waste of a certain material generated per unit. n = number of units. Examples of such units are tonnes of lubrication oil sold in 1999, scrapped cars, tonnes of PCB in PCB-containing concrete, etc. c = correction factor. For instance used to adjust for water and other contaminants in the calculations of oil containing hazardous waste. aa = amount to approved handling.

The constants f and c are collected from the literature and through specific inquiries to specialists. The number n is also derived from literature and inquires, but in addition to that, Statistics Norway's statistics on trade, external trade and manufacturing also constitute an important information source.

In part, hazardous waste for which the method of method of handling is unknown is calculated by industry through extrapolation of the amounts entering approved handling. The amounts delivered from the different businesses will then constitute the foundation for estimating the amounts not delivered. It is assumed that all (or a certain part of) the businesses generate waste every year. An inflation factor is assessed in each individual case and comprises either man-year or number of establishments. Some amounts are collected directly from the literature or phone calls to specialists.

Not relevant

The figures have been aggregated to levels that ensure the confidentiality of the respondents.

The definition of what to include as hazardous waste varies with time. Several waste types previously classified as non-hazardous, are reclassified as hazardous waste today. This applies to for instance impregnated wood, CRT-glass containing heavy metals, plastics from electrical and electronic equipment containing brominated flame-retardants and eternite (asbestos cement), which became hazardous waste from 2003. This made an increase in the total amount of generated hazardous waste from 2002 to 2003 of about 70 000 tonnes, without reflecting a corresponding increase in negative effects on the environment.