Box 15A Information on waste

Data availability

Statistics on waste are undeveloped in most European countries. Data collection on waste production, movements and management is often limited in its scope and coverage. Few data are available on waste production before 1985. Most recent data are based on ad hoc surveys or estimates. In particular, national statistics on hazardous waste are seldom available or accurate. Thus far, only a few European countries have adopted regulatory requirements for industries to report on the amount of hazardous and other wastes generated. Because of the enormous variability in production processes and technologies, estimates based on production and consumption trends have a wide range of error. In addition, a considerable portion of waste still escapes control and therefore is often not recorded at all in official statistics.

Data quality

The most accurate data are generally recognised as available through properly regulated systems of notification and reporting. Since such 'control systems' in Europe are still not fully and uniformly implemented, statistics on waste are particularly unreliable. In most European countries, the quantities and types of waste produced are often reported only on a voluntary basis and not as part of a systematic monitoring activity. Confidentiality is often the cause of problems in data collection and disclosure. An additional factor which hampers the reliability of waste statistics is that materials destined for recovery operations are often not recorded as waste.

Data comparability

In Europe, there are striking differences in the scope, detail, accuracy and comparability of national waste statistics. Consequently, great caution should be exercised when comparing such data across European countries. National figures on the amount and type of waste produced reflect differences in definitions, classifications and methods of data collection. The generic terms 'municipal waste', 'industrial waste', and 'hazardous waste' may include different waste streams in each national context. Caution should also be used when deriving historical trends; often the definition and classification systems have changed over time. For hazardous waste, in particular, historical data are seldom consistent with more recent information.