Miljøprojekt Nr. 1018/2005 – Emballageforsyningen i Danmark 2003

Supply of Packaging in Denmark 2003

Summary

The consulting company LOGISYS A/S accomplishes the survey of the Danish supply of packaging covering the year 2003. In principle, the method used in previous years has been used again. However, another classification of sales and transport packaging was used before the 2002 statistics. The new classification complies with the EU directive on packaging and packaging waste. Therefore, it is not possible to compare these figures with the figures from the previous years. However, the figures showing total packaging supply can be compared without problems.

The table below shows the total quantity of packaging supply in year 2003:

Total supply of packaging, 2003
Materials	Sales packaging, tonnes	Transport packaging, tonnes	Total, tonnes
Corrugated cardboard	157,838	205,014	362,852
Cardboard	75,088	6,527	81,616
Paper	46,698	3,925	50,623
Paper and board, total	279,624	215,466	495,090
Glass, total	151,866	0	151,866
PVC	-204	0	-204
PP	17,612	4,492	22,104
PS	1,681	2,466	4,148
EPS	3,730	2,806	6,537
Plastic laminate	5,450	447	5,898
PET	7,219	446	7,664
HDPE	13,167	5,300	18,467
LDPE	66,506	25,456	88,961
Other plastic materials	881	296	1,177
Plastics, total	113,042	41,710	154,752
Aluminium	11,274	0	11,274
Tinplate/steel	28,534	2,372	30,907
Metal, total	39,808	2,372	42,181
Textile, total	4,299	92	4,391
Wood, total	2,329	106,165	108,493
Total	590,968	365,805	956,774
%-split	61.8	38.2	100.0

The supply amount of wood packaging has been verified in the report. As a result of this work, the supply quantity of wood packaging has been reduced. It is the use of pallets that gave rise to complications in the statistics.

In the table below the total supply of packaging in the past ten years can be seen.

Total supply of packaging, 2003
Materials	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Paper and cardboard	396	409	412	463	435	469	475	488	502	495
Glass	138	176	185	202	176	188	168	184	156	152
Plastics	111	136	133	163	158	153	157	150	157	154
Metal	34	48	43	40	36	26	45	43	41	42
Textile	2	3	3	4	4	4	3	3	4	4
Wood	56	83	59	55	94	107	108	117	101	108
Total	737	855	835	928	903	947	956	985	961	956
Index (1994=100)	100	116	113	126	123	128	134	136	130	130

As was the case in the survey covering year 2002, a division is made of the quantity of the packaging supply among the product groups that are making use of the packaging. In principle, this is another way of calculating the packaging supply. Using these two methods, the results ought to be at the same level. However there is a difference of 202,000 tonnes packaging. Of this, 96,000 tonnes are pallets of wood, which are not included in the supply quantity, when the quantity is divided into product groups. The use of other returnable packaging is not included in this calculation either.

Furthermore, a survey of the use of returnable packaging has been conducted. From the survey it appears that there is a supply of 414 million returnable packaging, and, totally, they have circulated 2.1 billion times in year 2003. In case this quantity of packaging is one-way packaging, this quantity will increase the total supply of packaging by 1.0 million tonnes per year – approx. a doubling of the present quantity of packaging.

The packaging statistics include a calculation of where the packaging quantities end as waste – in other words, from where is the packaging going to be disposed. This calculation will be made in the years to come. The largest packaging amount must be disposed from private households. They account for approx. 46.2% of the total packaging waste.