Waste Statistics 1997

5. Imports and exports of waste

5.1 Import
5.2 Exports
5.3 Imports and exports of waste subject to mandatory notification, distributed on countries and waste fractions
5.3.1 OECD-codes

5.1 Imports

Table 10 shows imported amounts of waste for 1996 and 1997 distributed on waste fractions and treatment options. Imported amounts of waste increased from 1996 to 1997 by 6 per cent, and account for 4 per cent of total waste generated in Denmark.

Table 10 Look here

89 per cent of waste imported is categorised as green waste for recovery according to the EU Regulation on shipments of waste, and it covers glass, paper, cardboard and carton, plastic, ferrous metals, as well as organic waste. Waste imported is destined for recycling or incineration with energy recovery.

The remaining 11 per cent of waste imported is listed on the OECD amber and red lists and is subject to mandatory notification under the EU Regulation on shipments of waste, cf. Table 12. Waste of this type is destined for disposal (landfilling and incineration without energy recovery) or recovery (recycling and incineration with energy recovery).

5.2 Exports

Table 11 shows amounts of waste exported in 1996 and 1997. It is seen that amounts exported account for 9 per cent of total waste generation in Denmark. In 1997, amounts exported increased by 56,000 tonnes or 5 per cent compared to 1996. This increase is mainly attributable to an increase in exports of residues from waste incineration plants, whereas there has been a decrease in exports of residues from coal-fired power plants and iron manufacture.

Sources: (1) Statistics Denmark, (2) Association of Danish Recycling Industries and other large scrap dealers, (3) Elsam and Elkraft, (4) Registrations according to EU Regulation on shipments of waste, (5) Collection of nickel-cadmium batteries registered by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, (6) ISAG reports 1996 and 1997, (7) Figure changed compared to 1996 statistics.

91 per cent of amounts exported is classified as green waste destined for recovery, and covers primarily the fractions paper and cardboard, and ferrous metals, which alone account for 80 per cent of amounts exported.

Exports of waste destined for disposal and waste destined for recovery, which are listed on the OECD red and amber waste lists, are subject to mandatory notification in accordance with the EU Regulation on shipments of waste. These exports amounted to about 114,000 tonnes, corresponding to 9 per cent of amounts exported, cf. Table 12.

Table 12 shows countries of export and import of waste subject to mandatory notification.

The table shows that imports of waste destined for recovery come almost exclusively from Germany. Norway, Spain, Sweden and Germany receive most of what Denmark exports for recovery.

The major proportion of imported waste subject to mandatory notification and destined for disposal comes from Norway. Similarly, Norway is also the main country of destination for waste for disposal exported from Denmark (flue gas cleaning products from waste incineration plants).

The geographical structure of countries with which Denmark co-operates in the treatment of hazardous waste is identical to that of 1996. In return, from 1996 to 1997, a remarkable increase in amounts of exported waste subject to mandatory notification has been registered.

In 1997, Denmark exported 113,800 tonnes against 65,200 tonnes in 1996. This is an increase of 75 per cent. Especially, there was an increase in exported amounts of slag and ash from the manufacture of iron and steel, and ash from zinc processing plants to Norway; in household hazardous waste and waste from paper mills to Sweden, and in residues from waste incineration plants, waste oil, household hazardous waste, and waste from surface treatment of ferrous metals to Germany.

By contrast, amounts of imported waste subject to mandatory notification decreased from 65,000 tonnes in 1996 to 55,000 tonnes in 1997.

Sources: Danish Environmental Protection Agency, database of shipments. The registration is made on the background of completed consignment notes under EU Regulation 259/93 on shipments of waste. The consignee must send a copy of the filled-in consignment note to the competent authorities within three working days after receipt of the waste. OECD-codes are defined in Commission Decision of 21^st October 1994 (no. L 288/36, Official Journal of the European Communities of 9^th November 1994).

AA010 Dross, scalings and other wastes from the manufacture of iron and steel.
AA020 Zinc ashes and residues.
AA030 Lead ashes and residues.
AA040 Copper ashes and residues.
AA050 Aluminium ashes and residues.
AA060 Vanadium ashes and residues
AA070 Ashes and residues containing metals or metal compounds not elsewhere specified or in- cluded.
AA130 Liquors from the pickling of metals.
AA100 Mercury waste and residues.
AA120 Galvanic sludges.
AA160 Ash from incineration of printed circuit boards
AA162 Photographic film ash.
AA170 Lead-acid batteries, whole or crushed.
AA180 Used batteries or accumulators, whole or crushed, other than lead-acid batteries and waste and scrap arising from the production of batteries and accumulators, not otherwise specified or included.
AB010 Slag, ash and residues, not elsewhere specified or included.
AB020 Residues arising from the combustion of municipal/household wastes.
AB030 Waste from non-cyanide based systems which arise from surface treatment of metals.
AB070 Sands used in foundry operations.
AB080 Waste catalysts not on the green list.
AB100 Waste alumina.
AB110 Basic solutions.
AC030 Waste oils unfit for their originally intended use.
AC040 Leaded petrol (gasoline) sludges
AC070 Brake fluids.
AC090 Waste from production, formulation and use of resins, latex, plasticisers, glues and adhe- sives.
AC170 Treated cork and wood wastes.
AC210 Non-halogenated solvents.
AC220 Halogenated solvents.
AC260 Liquid pig manure; faeces.
AC270 Sewage sludge.
AD010 Waste from the production and preparation of pharmaceutical products.
AD030 Waste from the manufacture, formulation and use of wood preserving chemicals.
AD040 Inorganic cyanides, excepting precious metal-bearing residues in solid form containing traces of inorganic cyanides.
AD060 Waste oils/water, hydrocarbons/water mixtures, emulsions.
AD070 Waste from production, formulation and use of inks, dyes, pigments, paints, lacquers, varnish.
AD080 Wastes of an explosive nature, when not subject to specific other legislation
AD090 Waste from production, formulation and use of reprographic and photographic chemicals and materials, not elsewhere specified or included.
AD140 Wastes from industrial pollution control devices for cleaning of industrial offgases, not elsewhere specified or included.
RA010 Waste, substances and articles containing consisting of or contaminated with polychlori- nated biphenyl (PCB) and/or polychlorinated terphenyl (PCT) and/or polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), including any other polybrominated analogues of these compounds at a concentration level of 50 mg/kg or more.
RC030 Leaded anti-knock compounds sludges
RX100 Other wastes not specified with an OECD-code