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Waste Statistics 2001

3 Recycling

3.1 Recycling analysed by fractions

Table 4 shows the share of the different waste fractions that are separated for recycling in the form of either reprocessing, composting or bio gasification. The table is not an outline of total amounts generated of each fraction.

Source: The ISAG reports and (1) re ycling industries and other large scrap dealers. (2) Elsam and Energi E2. (3)Reports to the Danish EPA on sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plants applied to farmland etc. Figures from 2000 are used. Sludge for long-term storage has been included in amounts for recycling. (4) To avoid double registration, the figures have been corrected for amounts of ferrous metals that are removed from waste incineration plants.

Some fractions, e.g. "other recyclable", "other construction and demolition waste" and "soil and stone" may contribute further to e.g. arisings of tiles and wood after they have been separated.

As the table shows, 8,101,000 tonnes of waste were recycled in 2001, which is 4 per cent or 359,000 tonnes less than in 2000. This increase may be attributed to large decreases in recycling of food waste/organic waste, ferrous metals, wood and sludge. By contrast, there were slight increases in the recycling of hazardous waste, bottles and glass, automobile rubber, tiles, other construction/demolition waste, asphalt, soil and stone, and sludge from other sources.

3.2 Paper and cardboard

Consumption of virgin paper and the rate of collection of waste paper in the period from 1995 to 2001 are shown in Table 5. Note that the figures for virgin paper consumption in 2001 are not yet available.

Total collected waste paper in 2001 amounted to 709,000 tonnes. This is a decrease of 26,000 tonnes or 4 per cent from total amounts collected in 2000.

Source: (1) Material stream monitoring of collected waste paper. (2) The ISAG reports. (3) Statistics Denmark. (4) Some of the increase from 1999 to 2000 is explained by a correction of reporting to the ISAG. In connection with quality control of reports in 2000, 100,000 secondary sources were thus diverted to primary sources. The relevant waste treatment plants have (probably) also registered these sources incorrectly in previous years which may partly account for the differences in calculations of collected waste paper arisings by the ISAG and the material stream monitoring of collected waste paper . (Danish waste paper delivered to Danish paper mills and net exports). The increase in amounts of paper from trade/offices and the decrease in amounts of paper from households are probably due to problems with registration of waste on primary and secondary sources. In connection with the quality control carried out by the ISAG, Smørum Papir stated that they no longer receive waste paper from households. This alone means a decrease of 45,000 tonnes from 2000. No other plants have apparently registered similar increases.

Table 6 shows the distribution of collected paper by source. It is no surprise that the largest amounts of collected waste paper come from households, the service sector, ^[9] and industry.

Source: the ISAG reports 1996- 2001. (1) Note that double registration in 1998 apparently explains why the total amounts are about 20,000 tonnes in excess.

Amounts of waste paper collected from households increased by around 10,600 tonnes from 2000 to 2001. Since 1997, amounts of paper collected from households have remained stable at around 180,000 tonnes ^[10].

Amounts of waste paper collected from the service sector increased by around 17,600 tonnes or 8 per cent. The amount of paper collected from industry has fallen by around 55,100 tonnes corresponding to 17 per cent compared to 2000.

In the ISAG, waste delivered to a recycling centre is registered as the commercial source "recycling centre/transfer station". Thus, it is not stated whether waste originated from households or other primary sources. From 2001 recycling centres/transfer stations must indicate a distribution scale for waste types and primary source. Since this is not yet routine, the ISAG secretariat has produced a distribution as shown in Annex 2.

3.3 Plastic

Plastic collected for recycling registered in the ISAG amounted in 2001 to 43,000 tonnes, which is an increase of 3,000 tonnes from 2000. However, it is assumed that some plastic has been collected and exported directly for recycling abroad without having been registered at a Danish treatment plant. It is therefore probable that larger amounts have been collected for recycling in Denmark than the 43,000 tonnes.

The fraction "plastic" covers both production waste and waste plastic packaging. Every year, detailed statistics are prepared for waste plastic packaging. Statistics for waste plastic packaging in 2000 ^[11]show that in that year 22,750 tonnes of waste plastic packaging were reprocessed in Denmark. Half of the amount was imported.

In 2000, 19,650 tonnes of waste plastic packaging were collected in Denmark. Of this amount, 8,200 tonnes were exported for recycling abroad.

Total amounts collected correspond to 12.5 per cent of total Danish consumption of plastic packaging. This is a slight increase from 1999, when 11 per cent of waste plastic packaging was collected for recycling. Waste plastic of the type polyethylene (PE) accounted for 80 per cent of collected amounts.

3.4 Bottles and glass

According to the ISAG reports, 152,000 tonnes of bottles and glass were collected for recycling in Denmark in 2001. This is 44,000 tonnes more than in 2000. There is no explanation for this increase.

However, the ISAG does not give a complete picture of total material streams. This is especially the case with recycling of bottles and glass - a process with several collection, reuse and treatment steps before glass becomes waste.

As a consequence, in the following description of total recycling of glass, the ISAG information is supplemented with information from "Statistics on glass packaging 2000" ^[12], cf. Figure 6.

Source: "Statistics on glass packaging 2000", Ole Kaysen, Econet, Environmental Project No. 697, 2002. Note that total consumption for 1999 has been adjusted upwards compared to "Statistics on glass packaging 1999". The adjustment is due to a write up of amounts of glass packaging for food preservation.

Apart from minor fluctuations, consumption of glass packaging has been on the increase throughout the 1990s.

Also collection and recycling of glass packaging have been increasing. Collected glass amounted to 126,000 tonnes in 1999 and 129,000 tonnes in 2000. Amounts of recycled glass also increased - from 123,000 tonnes in 1999 to 125,000 tonnes in 2000.

This means that the rate of collection of total consumption in 2000 was 66 per cent – a fall of 3 percentage points compared to 1999. The rate of recycling of total consumption in 2000 was 64 per cent, which is a somewhat lower rate than in 1999.

Bottles for beer and soft drinks manufactured for reuse are not included in these figures. On average, refillable glass bottles are reused 30 times. If these bottles were manufactured as single-use bottles, it would give an increase in waste glass of around 310,000 tonnes.

3.5 Ferrous metals

Table 7 shows collected amounts of ferrous scrap analysed between consignees. For 2001, it is seen that 871,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap were recycled, and this is a significant decrease of 218,000 tonnes compared to 2000.

Source: (1) ISAG reports, (2) information from the Association of Danish Recycling Industries and other large scrap dealers. Note that calculations in Table 7 differ from those in Table 3. Amongst other things, correction for amounts of ferrous metals removed from waste incineration plants has not been made.

The total potential of ferrous scrap is not known precisely. Recycling industries normally estimate a recycling rate in excess of 90 per cent for ferrous scrap.

According to the ISAG reports, the Danish Steel Works and other Danish foundries imported 238,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap in 2001, whereas scrap dealers imported around 35,000 tonnes. Total imports in 2001 thereby amounted to 273,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap, which is 57,000 tonnes more than in 2000.

Scrap dealers exported 532,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap in 2001, which adds up to net exports in 2001 of 497,000 tonnes.

3.6 Organic waste for composting, wood chipping and bio gasification

Amounts of organic waste led to reprocessing in the form of composting, wood chipping, bio gasification or fodder production are shown in Table 8.

Organic waste led to reprocessing in 2001 amounted to 1,116,000 tonnes. This is 36,000 tonnes less than in 2000. This decrease is particularly attributable to a fall in amounts of other organic waste for bio gasification - 55,000 tonnes less in 2001 than in 2000 - and also to a fall of 37,000 tonnes in amounts of garden waste for composting/wood chipping.

Source: The ISAG does not contain information on whether organic materials are reprocessed via composting, wood chipping or bio gasification. Figures are based on assessments and calculations of data from the ISAG reports. (1) According to calculations in "Statistics on treatment of organic waste from households 2001", Econet, Environmental Project 2003, organic domestic waste led to composting and bio gasification amounts to 37, 000 tonnes.

Amounts of bark/wood chips and compost removed from treatment plants do not reflect the total amount generated at the plants. Rather, the amounts removed indicate the quantity sold or delivered free of charge from the plants.

It is seen from the table that amounts of sold/removed bark/wood chips were about 3,000 tonnes larger than in 2000, whereas amounts of sold/removed compost were 18,000 tonnes larger than in 2000.

3.7 Tyres

In 1995, the Minister for Environment and Energy entered an agreement with a number of organisations, on a take-back scheme for used tyres from cars, vans, and motorcycles.

The purpose of the agreement is to ensure collection and recycling of used tyres in Denmark. Landfilling is avoided and resource recovery ensured, whereby material recovery is prioritised to energy recovery.

The scheme started 1 April 1995 and is financed by a fee on tyres which are covered by the agreement and marketed in Denmark.

According to the agreement, the target is to achieve a take-back rate of at least 80 per cent.

As per 1 April 2000 the scheme was extended to cover tyres for all types of motor vehicles. Therefore, there is a leap in figures from 1999 to 2000 in Table 9.

The table shows a collection rate of about 97 per cent for 2001. This means that practically all types of tyres covered by the scheme are collected.

Source: The Danish EPA figures for the period 1 July 1995 – 31 December 1995 and reports from the Danish Tyre Trade Environmental Foundation in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. Figures for the second half of 1995 include 1000 tonnes collected during the first half of 1995, which leads to a higher rate of collection.

Footnotes

[9] Institutions/trade and offices.

[10] Amounts registered in 1998 are probably 20,000 tonnes in excess due to double registration.

[11] Environmental Project No. 602, 2001.

[12] The figures for 2001 are not yet available.

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Version 1.0 January 2004, © Danish Environmental Protection Agency