Waste Category

Defined as hazardous waste

National objectives in 2004

Environmental problem /
Health aspects

Source

Health- Care risk waste

Yes

All health-care risk waste is incinerated at incineration plants that have been specially designed and approved to treat this waste. Plants incinerating health-care risk waste are required to meet the same emission limits and operation standards as incineration plants for municipal solid waste, and the same regulations apply for disposal of residual waste.

Infectious

Hospitals, clinics, primary and secondary health sector

PCB and PCT

Yes

Total substitutions of PCB and PCT

Mutagenic, carcinogenic, highly toxic, bioaccumulative in fat issues.

Conden- sators and trans-  formers

Waste oil

Yes

Environmentally safe management

Hazardous waste fractions unevenly through out the country

Garages, transport companies and households

PVC

No

No PVC waste at incineration plants

Substitute certain PVC products with alternative products

Phase out additives harmful to human health and environment (E.g.: lead and phthalates)

Develop technologies for final treatment

PVC contains a number of environmental contaminants causing environ- mental problems in waste management. Incineration of PVC at waste incineration plants entails larger amounts of flue gas cleaning waste for landfilling than amounts of waste fed.

Enterprises, Construction and demolition sites and households

Impreg- nated wood

Partly

Utilise energy and raw material resources in waste impregnated wood.

Contains a number of environmental contaminants, which cause problems at disposal. The amount is increasing.

Construction and demolition sites and households

Batteries and accumu- lators

Partly

Recover raw material resources in all batteries 99.9 % of collection of lead accumulators

95 % collection of Ni-Cd batteries

In 1998, the collection rate for NiCd batteries and lead accumulators in Denmark was 98% and 80% respectively.

The objective is to reduce the amount of the heavy metals that are landfilled or incinerated. When appropriate systems for sorting and collection of batteries have been set up, all types of batteries shall be collected in Denmark. Today, the principle is that all batteries shall be collected as the consumers are not able to distinguish between the different categories.

May contain large quantities of heavy metals, especially lead but also mercury, cadmium and nickel.

Non-collected ni-cd batteries are the most significant source of cadmium in waste streams.

Mercury is the largest barrier to efficient treatment of batteries.

Some batteries also contain resources such as steel , zinc, manganese and carbon that may be recovered.

Enterprises and households

Waste electrical and electronic equipment

Specific fractions of discarded EEE

Increased recycling of resources from waste electrical and electronic equipment

Avoid delivery to waste incineration plants and landfills

Environmentally safe disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment

Waste electrical and electronic equipment contains many environmentally harmful substances, especially heavy metals. For example, 60 % of copper and 40 % of lead going to landfills and incineration plants is thought to derive from WEEE.

Enterprises and households. Electrical and electronic equipment primarily includes radio and television equipment, IT products, regulation and monitoring equipment, white goods, and office equipment.

Refri- geration equipment

No

90 % collection of total number of discarded products.

Refrigeration equipment shall be managed so that environmental contaminants are treated separately and recyclable fractions (iron and metal parts) are recovered.

Refrigeration equipment contains CFCs (chloro- fluorocarbons) and other environmentally harmful fractions such as heavy metals.

The release of CFCs to the atmosphere is considered hazardous since CFCs cause ozone depletion, which increases the risk of skin cancer.

Households and enterprises

End-of-life vehicles

No

80 % recycling of waste amounts

Environmentally safe management of harmful fractions

Only specific fractions of discarded vehicles are hazardous. Epecially fractions containing heavy metals or acids. Different waste fractions are generated both before and after shredding (scrapping) of vehicles.

End-of-life vehicles contain many environmentally harmful substances. These are especially heavy metals that today end at waste incineration plants or landfills

Households and enterprises

End-of-life vehicles contain waste such as iron and metal parts, tyres, plastic, glass, oil, and other liquids.

Shredder waste

Partly

75 % recycling and better resource utilisation of shredder waste

Reduced amounts of shredder waste for landfilling

Shredder waste can have a high content of environmental contaminants (heavy metals, PCB).

The possibility of developing new treatment techniques is being investigated.

Shredder plants

Shredder waste is generated at enterprises crushing various metal- containing products, such as vehicles and hard white goods (kitchen hardware).

Foundry waste

Partly (Yes)

80 % of recycling of foundry waste

10 % waste reduction

Foundry waste contains chemicals and this is a barrier to recycling. Today, foundry waste accounts for a large part of landfilled industrial waste.

Environmental problems primarily derive from discarded foundry sand, slag and filter dust. Filter dust are classified as hazardous waste.

Technically, the majority of waste generated at foundries can be recycled. Foundries in Denmark are encouraged to make efforts to recycle waste in co-operation with DEPA.

Foundries

Foundry sand amounts to 80,000 tonnes per year

Around 5,000 tonnes of slag and 400 tonnes of furnace filter dust are generated each year.

Packaging waste

No

Quantitative objectives are set up for 2001. Contrarily to many other countries, Denmark has chosen to focus on the best way to utilise various recyclable materials in waste including packaging waste, instead of establishing a separate system for packagings.

Packaging waste contains large quantities of reusable packages and recyclable materials.

Households and enterprises