Waste generation and treatment (env_wasgt)

National Reference Metadata in ESS Standard for Quality Reports Structure (ESQRS)

Compiling agency: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS) and Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO)


Eurostat metadata
Reference metadata
1. Contact
2. Statistical presentation
3. Statistical processing
4. Quality management
5. Relevance
6. Accuracy and reliability
7. Timeliness and punctuality
8. Coherence and comparability
9. Accessibility and clarity
10. Cost and Burden
11. Confidentiality
12. Comment
Related Metadata
Annexes (including footnotes)
 



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1. Contact Top
1.1. Contact organisation

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS) and Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO)

1.2. Contact organisation unit

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), Department for environment and energy statistics

1.5. Contact mail address

 

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia

Litostrojska cesta 54

1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija


2. Statistical presentation Top
2.1. Data description

Description of data set(s) delivered:

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter referred to as SURS) is, as a responsible organization for reporting data according to the Waste Statistics Regulation (hereinafter referred to as WStatR) for Republic of Slovenia, delivering all four data sets through eDamis system. Within the delivered datasets are data on:

  • waste generation by waste category (EWC-Stat Version 4 – amendment in the Regulation (EU) No 849/2010) and economic activities (NACE Rev. 2);
  • waste treated by incineration (R1, D10), recovery (R2-R11, backfilling) and disposal operations (D1, D5, D12 and D2, D3, D4, D6, D7);
  • number and capacity of recovery and disposal facilities by NUTS 2 regions and
  • number and rest capacity of landfill sites by NUTS 2 regions and number, rest capacity and closed landfills for different landfill sites (landfills for hazardous waste, landfills for non-hazardous waste and landfills for inert waste) on national level.

 

Data on waste generation from production and service activities are acquired from:

  • Waste Generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey);
  • Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey) – municipal waste collected from production and service activities.

 

Data on waste generation from households are obtained from:

  • Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey):
    • municipal waste collected from households. Since 2017, survey is carried out through IS-Odpadki application in the form of e-reporting, managed by Slovenian Environment Agency (hereinafter referred to as ARSO). 
  • Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey):
    • data on end-of-life vehicles (EWC-Stat. 08.120 and 08.121). Regarding the allocation of end-of-life vehicles by NACE rev. 2 activities, end-of-life vehicles of unknown origin to the service sector (G-U exl. G 46.77) were included as Eurostat recommended on the meeting of the Working group on waste statistics in March 2018.
    • data on construction and demolition waste (C&D waste). Amounts of mentioned waste that households bring to waste collection centres by themselves.

 Data on treated waste amount are obtained from:

  • Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey).

 

Data on the number, capacity of waste recovery and disposal facilities are obtained from the administrative source of the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning (MOP) that is the responsible institution for granting environmental permits for recovery and/or disposal of waste.

Data on the number and rest capacity of landfill sites and data on the number of closed landfill sites are also obtained from administrative source of the MOP.

 

Determination of waste generated by households

Data on generation of waste from households are obtained from Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey). Municipal waste are mostly generated in households, and then collected by public services within the public waste removal scheme. In addition to municipal waste, also non-municipal waste are generated (mainly C&D waste - group 17 by LoW and end-of-life tyres – waste code 16 01 03 by LoW) in households. Non-municipal waste are also collected by public services who, in addition to the environmental permit for collection of municipal waste, also have a permit for collection of specific types of waste. These are mostly waste taken over or left without record (transport) sheets, especially through collection centres.

 

Table 7: Determination methods for waste generated by households

1

Indirect determination via waste collection

1.1

Description of reporting unit applied (waste collectors, municipalities)

  • mostly public services - municipal waste collectors

1.2

Description of the reporting system (regular survey on waste collectors, utilisation of administrative sources)

  • administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO)

1.3

Waste types covered

  • municipal and similar wastes (LoW group 20) and packaging waste (LoW group 15 01)
  • other waste generated by households (C&D waste, end-of-life tyres, end-of-life vehicles, etc.)

1.4

Survey characteristics (1.4a – 1.4d)

 

a) Total no. of collectors /municipalities (population size)

66 (public services within the ODP-zbiranje survey)

 

b) No. of collectors/municipalities selected for survey

66 (public services within the ODP-zbiranje survey)

 

c) No. of responses used for the calculation of the totals

66 (public services within the ODP-zbiranje survey)

 

d) Factor for weighting

/

1.5

Method applied for the differentiation between the sources household and commercial activities

Within the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO, ODP-zbiranje questionnaire) there are two different columns that define the source of collected waste - amount collected within the public collection service:

  • from households;
  • from production and service activities;

The reporting units themselves already have to estimate the collected amount of waste according to the source of waste generated.

1.6

Percentages of waste from commercial activities by waste types

  • 20 Municipal and similar wastes (32%)*
  • 15 01 Packaging waste (55%)*

1.7

Population served by a collection scheme for mixed household and similar waste, in %

100%

2

Indirect determination via waste treatment

2.1

Specification of waste treatment facilities selected

Waste collection centres (ODP-zbiranje)

2.2

Waste types covered

Almost all waste types

2.3

Method applied for the differentiation between the sources household and commercial activities

From this source SURS take the amount of non-municipal waste (mostly C&D waste and end-of-life tyres) from households - amount brought to waste collection centres directly by citizens themselves.

2.4

Percentages of waste from commercial activities by waste types

-

Notes:

* These percentages apply to waste groups 20 and 15 01 by LoW that are generated in production and service activities of the total amounts of generated waste from both groups 20 and 15 01.

General description of methodology

In Slovenia all waste treatment facilities need an environmental permit for waste treatment, which can be obtained at national environment agency (ARSO). Appropriate waste treatment facilities have been identified for entry in the list of waste processors at ARSO for recovering and/or disposal of waste from other waste holders or having an environmental permit for the recovery and/or disposal of their own waste, including landfill sites operators (municipal landfill sites, industrial landfill sites and hazardous waste landfill sites) and contractors for mechanical biological treatment of mixed municipal waste (MBT facility managers).

At the beginning of each year, ARSO sends SURS a list of units that had obtained an environmental permit for waste treatment in the observed year (recovery and/or disposal of waste, including landfill operators and contractors of MBT mixed municipal waste). Cooperation between SURS and ARSO on surveys on waste generation, waste collection and waste treatment is at a high level. Therefore, obtaining such data is not a challenge.

In addition, all holders of an environmental permit for collection or treatment of waste must be (in accordance with the national Decree on waste) registered in the information system (IS-Odpadki application), which was established and is managed by ARSO and represents the administrative source for all surveys on waste at SURS. All holders of an environmental permit for collection or treatment of waste must prepare their reports (on waste collection and waste recovery/disposal) through IS-Odpadki application.

From the list of units, obtaining environmental permits for waste treatment, ARSO then prepares a list of reporting units, separately for:

  • special waste collectors;
  • waste treaters and waste disposers, including those who obtain permit for internal recovery or disposal of their own waste;
  • business entities with license to carry out the public service of collecting and removing municipal waste;
  • contractors for mechanical biological treatment of mixed municipal waste (MBT facility managers);
  • operators of landfill sites or operators of municipal public service of municipal waste landfilling.

These entire lists are also important for the process of statistical data processing (data analysis and data control).

 

Data on treated amount are obtained from an administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO) and micro data are statistically processed by SURS within the annual statistical surveys:

  • Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey): includes data on collection (source of collected waste) and further waste treatment (submit to other waste collectors, waste processors, temporary storage or export), data on source of municipal waste (from households and/or from production and service activities), data on source of municipal waste by municipality and data on further handling with municipal waste.
  • Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey): includes data on source of obtained waste (primary waste generator, other waste collector, other waste processor, imported amounts), data on waste treatment processes (recovery, disposal operations – R and D codes) including internal treatment of waste (internal recovery and internal disposal for those units who own environmental permit) in accordance with the issued environmental permit, data on the number and capacity of landfill sites, data on amounts of waste landfilled on the landfill sites, data on source of municipal waste landfilled by municipality, data on further treatment of waste (submit to other waste processors, temporary storage or export).

 

Data on number and capacity of waste treatment facilities are obtained from an administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO). ARSO prepares it on the basis of environmental permits issued and approvals. SURS reviews the data on the micro level and fills in the tables on Number and capacity of recovery and disposal facilities (Recovery and Incineration). Given that the quality of data from the administrative source has improved, the data within the table WASTE_REGIO1 are no longer flagged as “Estimated”. Also data within the table WASTE_REGIO1 are checked and approved by ARSO, before they are published on SURS and sent to Eurostat.

 

Data on number and capacity of landfill sites are also obtained from an administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO). Operators of landfill sites among other also report data on landfill sites (capacity and condition of landfill site) within the ODP-obdelava survey.

 

Identification of relevant treatment facilities

 

Registers used for identification of waste treatment operations

Identification of register(s) used
(name; responsible institution)

Description of register(s)
(coverage; frequency and procedure of updating, ...)

Management of registers on the basis of issued environmental permits and provisions in accordance with legislation regulating waste management is the task of ARSO who keeps and maintains different registers, e.g. registers of business entities providing recovery, disposers, collectors, public service providers, landfill sites operators, transport operators, etc.

 

Responsible institution: Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO)

All business entities that have environmental permits for waste collection or waste treatment (for particular waste types and particular waste treatment processes (R and D codes) and waste treatment facilities).

 

The established registers are updated by ARSO monthly on their website (only in Slovenian language).

 

Legal basis for the establishment, operation and maintenance of such registers is national Decree on waste. It also prescribed the establishment of an information system on waste management, named IS-Odpadki, through which all holders of various environmental permits in the area of waste management (waste generators, waste collectors, waste treaters), must report their data on amount of generated, collected and treated waste. Information system began to operate in 2013; the first data was reported in 2014 for the reference year 2013. Since then, the aforementioned information system has constantly been upgraded and complemented with the intention of getting better quality of data.

 

Data collection on treated amount

 

Determination of treated waste amount

Description of data sources and methods by treatment categories

 

Item 1

Energy recovery (R1)

Item 2

Incineration (D10)

Item 3a
Recycling
(R2 – R11)

Item 3b
Backfilling

Item 4
Landfilling
(D1, D5, D12)

Item 5
Other disposal
(D2, D3, D4, D6, D7)

Data source

  • Administrative source (IS-Odpadki, ARSO).
  • Data are statistical processed on SURS within the ODP-obdelava survey.

Method

Data from all business entities who obtain environmental permit for energy recovery (R1) and also business entities which carry out energy recovery of their own waste according to issued environmental permit.

Data from all business entities who obtain environmental permit for waste incineration (D10), including permit for internal waste incineration according to the issued environmental permit.

Data from all business entities who obtain environmental permit for waste recovery (R2 – R11)*

Data from all business entities who obtain environmental permit for backfilling, including permit for internal backfilling according to the issued environmental permit.**

Data from all business entities that have environmental permit for landfilling (D1, D5, D12), including permit for the management of landfill sites.***

Data from all business entities who have environmental permit for other disposal (D2, D3, D4, D6, D7) of waste, including permit for internal other waste disposal according to the issued environmental permit.

Responsible institution

  • administrative source (ARSO)

Legal basis for data collection

  • National Statistics Act (OJ RS, No. 9/01)
  • Annual program of statistical surveys (for year 2019)
  • Decree on waste (OJ RS, No. 37/15 and 69/15)
  • Regulation on Waste Landfill (OJ RS, No. 10/14, 54/15, 36/16 and 37/18)

Reporting forms

  • Data are reported through IS-Odpadki application (ARSO) – administrative source.

Frequency of data collection

Annually

Classifications used

Waste types:

  • Data are collected at 6 digit classification number by LoW classification and for the purpose of reporting under WStatR converted into EWC-Stat version 4 classifications with conversion key as described in Directive No. 849/2010/EC.

 

R & D codes:

  • Used as described in Directive 2008/98/EC, plus some additional national codes (e.g. for composting SURS used national code R31, etc.).
  • R & D codes are also defined within national Decree on waste (OJ RS, No. 37/15, 69/15 and 129/20):

-         Annex 1: Recovery

-         Annex 2: Disposal

Notes:

*All waste which are internally recycled on site of their generation and for which waste generator do not need environmental permit for their treatment, are excluded from our reporting on waste generation and waste treatment, because they are not treated as waste.

**In case if some soil or other C&D waste is placed back into the excavation void after extraction and it is used at the same place as it was extracted and there is no environmental permits needed, then these materials are excluded from our reporting on waste generation and waste treatment.

 

***Landfill cover is included Item 4 (Landfilling) according to Waste Statistics Manual. In previous years the landfill cover was included in Item 3a (Recycling).

 

Data collection on capacity of treatment facilities

 

SURS obtained data on type of treatment processes and number and capacity of treatment facilities from an administrative source - registers of licensed treatment facilities. Registers of licensed treatment facilities are kept and operated by ARSO and are updated on a monthly basis.

 

ARSO delivers an updated list of all holders of an environmental permit for waste recovery or disposal including the operators of landfill sites, within which precisely defined method of waste treatment for which the environmental permit is granted and the duration of environmental permit is stated, to SURS. In the environmental permit data on number, capacity and location of waste treatment facilities are precisely defined and specified by treatment categories, namely:

  • number and capacity of energy recovery facilities,
  • number and capacity of incineration facilities,
  • number of recovery other than energy recovery – except backfilling facilities,
  • number of recovery other than energy recovery –­ backfilling facilities,
  • number and capacity of landfill sites and number of closed landfill sites (municipal waste landfill sites, industrial waste landfill sites and hazardous waste landfill sites).

 

With the upgrade of the administrative source - information system for reporting data on waste treatment, waste collection and waste generation called IS-Odpadki application, quality of data on number and capacity of waste treatment facilities were also improved. Within the IS-Odpadki application there are also environmental permits available for each holder of an environmental permit.

 

2.2. Classification system

Description of classifications used

 

Name of
classification(s) used

Description of the classification(s)
(in particular compatibility with WStatR requirements)

Economic activities

NACE Rev. 2

Directly compatible with WStatR requirements

Waste types

LoW – List of Waste

EWCStat

On national level data on waste generation and treatment are collected by LoW waste classification and for the purpose of reporting by WStatR

converted into EWC–Stat Version 4 classification with conversion key (Directive No 849/2010/EC)

Recovery and treatment operations

R & D codes

Used as described in Directive No 2008/98/EC, plus some specific national codes (R31 - composting, R99 preparation for reuse, etc.).

 

For data collection for the reference year 2020no difficulties relating improper use of NACE Rev. 2 classification or any other classification used were noticed.

2.3. Coverage - sector

Like in the data for 2010 also in data for 2012 eesFrom the generated and from the treated amount of waste, amounts of waste that were internally recycled (processes R2-R11) by business entities who don’t have environmental permits, were excluded. The instructions were given to the reporting units to exclude all of their own waste that were internally recycled from the report on waste generation and waste recovery/disposal. The exceptions are amounts of waste which were internally recycled in accordance with the environmental permit issued by ARSO. These amounts are included within the amounts of waste generated and waste recovered/disposed.



Annexes:
Annex 1
2.4. Statistical concepts and definitions

Data on waste for the reference year 2020 were collected within the following statistical surveys:

  • Waste Generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey): within this survey SURS collected data on the types and amount of waste generated by business entities in production and service activities and on further waste treatment by waste generators. In 2020 SURS observed about 18,500 units altogether within ODP-nastajanje survey. The ODP-nastajanje survey covers all reporting units that caused waste in the observed year and submitted it with a record sheet for further treatment (to waste collectors or waste processors) or submitted a report on temporary storage and/or export of waste (within administrative source that is IS-Odpadki application).

Reporting units report their data to the administrative source (ARSO) in two different ways:

-       by using IS-Odpadki application;

-       by ODP-nastajanje questionnaire in .xls format prepared by ARSO, only those original waste generators who do not yet have access to application IS-Odpadki. In this case they submit .xls questionnaire from ARSO website, they fill it and send it via email to ARSO.

The basis for calculating amount of generated waste for the reference year 2020were ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava statistical surveys. The data were supplemented with the data (on temporary storage and export) from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, reports on waste generation in production and service activities).

 

  • Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey): within this survey SURS obtained data from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO) on the collected/received amount of waste and its subsequent flows from all business entities, from different areas of the standard classification of activities, that collect waste from other business entities while performing their activity but did not recycle or dispose of it in their company. For further treatment, they have either shipped or exported waste to business entities that have an adequate environmental permit for recovery or disposal. The Waste Collection survey thus includes all business entities to which the municipality has granted the right to implement the mandatory public services of municipal waste collection and all business entities that are entered into the records of waste collectors at the ARSO register. In 2020 SURS observed about 300 units within Waste Collection survey.

Reporting units for ODP-zbiranje survey report their data to administrative source - trough the IS-Odpadki application, which is maintained and managed by ARSO.

This survey also represents a data source for data on waste export and for the reference year 2020 it is also one of the data sources for the production of data within Waste Generation survey.

 

  • Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey): within this survey SURS obtained data from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO) on the amount and method of recovery and/or disposal of waste, data on waste disposal at landfill sites (municipal waste landfill sites, industrial waste landfill sites and hazardous waste landfill sites), data on treatment of mixed municipal waste within mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant, and data on waste import and export. Reporting units within ODP-obdelava survey are all business entities, registered at ARSO, who have an environmental permit for the recovery and/or disposal of waste, including landfill operators (municipal landfill sites, industrial landfill sites and hazardous waste landfill sites) and also contractors for MBT of mixed municipal waste. This survey also includes business entities with environmental permits that carry out recovery/disposal of their own waste, resulting from their activity.

From the reference year 2018, the Waste Recovery/Disposal survey is also one of the data sources for the production of data within Waste Generation survey.

In 2020 about 600 units were observed within Waste recovery/disposal survey. Reporting units for ODP-obdelava survey must report their data through the IS-Odpadki application, which is maintained and managed by ARSO.

2.5. Statistical unit

The surveys were not conducted on the basis of a random sample, therefore sampling error was not calculated. Data on waste generation for the reference year 2020 were recalculated from Waste collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey) and Waste recovery/disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey). Within Waste generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey) all units – all waste generators (business entities and through public services also households) that in the observed year (2020) submitted waste to waste collectors or processors (for recovery or disposal) were covered. Data on waste generated in the observed year were supplemented with data on temporary storage and export of waste from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ODP-nastajanje report), managed by ARSO.

Observed units within the surveys on waste collection (ODP-zbiranje survey) and waste recovery/disposal (ODP-obdelava survey), are all (full coverage) waste collectors and all waste treaters, including landfill sites operators.

Observed units were taken from the records of waste collectors and waste treaters (recoverers and disposers of waste, landfill sites operators) kept at ARSO.

 

Determination of waste generation in the economy on the basis of administrative sources

In our main survey that is Waste Generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey) all reporting units that caused waste in the observed year and submitted it with a record sheet for further treatment (to waste collectors or waste processors) or submitted a report on temporary storage and/or export of waste were covered.

For the reference year 2020 the basis for calculating amounts of generated waste were statistical surveys ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava. The data were supplemented with the data from the administrative source – the IS-Odpadki application, which was established and is managed by ARSO in accordance with the requirements of the Decree on Waste (OJ RS, No 37/15 and 69/15). At the end of the year, the reporting unit creates an appropriate report (Waste Generation, Waste Collection, Waste Recovery/Disposal) on the basis of data from the record sheets in the IS-Odpadki application, completes or corrects it if necessary and electronically signs it, and send it to ARSO via the mentioned application. The IS-Odpadki application is intended for electronic support in the monitoring of shipments of waste with record sheets and also for annual reporting on waste and waste treatment.

The observed unit within ODP-nastajanje survey is KAU (constituent units on 7 digit level of ID number) and no longer LKAU. According to this, the observed business entity (according to the Decree on Waste (OJ RS, No. 37/2015, 69/2015)) reports the amount of waste by statistical regions within the IS-Odpadki application. In particular, it identifies the statistical region of waste origin for each waste separately. The place of origin is thus one of the variables within the ODP-nastajanje questionnaire in administrative source. SURS prepared regional data (statistical region) on waste generation on the basis of:

-       data reporting within the ODP-nastajanje questionnaire within the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO),

-       data from waste record sheets (administrative source - IS-Odpadki application, ARSO),

-       data on the location of the parent company from the companies register.

2.6. Statistical population

Not relevant in our case. Data are obtained from the administrative source IS-Odpadki application, managed by ARSO. All surveys cover all reporting units (full coverage).

2.7. Reference area

Slovenia.

2.8. Coverage - Time

Since 2002 SURS, in collaboration with ARSO, has been carrying out five surveys annually – three on waste from production and service activities (ODP, ODP-Z and ODP-P) and two on municipal waste (KO-Z and KO-U). From 2009 to 2014 SURS carried out surveys in the field of municipal waste (KO-Z and KO-U) in collaboration with Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning (hereinafter referred to as MOP) through the information system of public utilities for environmental protection in the form of electronic reporting (filling in electronic forms) called IJSVO. From 2015 onwards, SURS carried out all surveys on waste generation, collection and treatment in collaboration with ARSO.

In 2013, in the accordance with the provisions of Article 73 of the Waste regulation (OJ RS, No. 103/2011), ARSO established the information system (hereinafter referred to as IS-Odpadki application) to ensure electronic support for monitoring shipments of waste with waste identification cards and also for annual waste generation, waste collection and waste treatment reports. According to the mentioned Waste regulation, the waste collectors and waste treatment operators are obliged to fill in the forms and annual reports within the IS-Odpadki application.

IS-Odpadki application originally provides electronic completion and electronic signing of waste identification card, which is a document confirming transmission and reception of waste shipments that are being relocated within the territory of the Republic of Slovenia. Some data in the forms of annual reports are being automatically transmitted from the data in the waste identification cards, depending of the way the annual report is prepared. The quality of data in the annual reports is based on the quality of data in the waste identification cards. First data reporting trough IS-Odpadki application on waste treatment (waste collection and waste recovery/disposal) and also on waste generation became available in 2014 for the reference year 2013.

In 2017, a comprehensive audit of all waste surveys at SURS was carried out. On the basis of the requirements of the new Decree on waste (OJ RS, No 37/15 and 69/15), the content of the administrative resource was updated in order to track the entire waste stream, from their generation to their final treatment. For this purpose, ARSO supplemented the IS-Odpadki application, which has become the primary administrative source of all waste data and the only way to collect waste data. At that time SURS switched from five surveys (ODP, ODP-Z, ODP-P, KO-Z and KO-U) to three surveys (Waste generation survey i.e. ODP-nastajanje; Waste collection survey i.e. ODP-zbiranje, which combines ODP-Z and KO-Z; and Waste recovery/disposal survey i.e. ODP-obdelava, which combines ODP-P and KO-U) in order to be unified with the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, managed by ARSO). First data reported by the new three surveys was for the reference year 2018.

2.9. Base period

Not relevant in our case.


3. Statistical processing Top
3.1. Source data

Data on waste for the reference year 2020 were collected within the following statistical surveys:

  • Waste Generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey): within this survey SURS collected data on the types and amount of waste generated by business entities in production and service activities and on further waste treatment by waste generators. In 2020 SURS observed about 18,500 units altogether within ODP-nastajanje survey. The ODP-nastajanje survey covers all reporting units that caused waste in the observed year and submitted it with a record sheet for further treatment (to waste collectors or waste processors) or submitted a report on temporary storage and/or export of waste (within administrative source that is IS-Odpadki application).

Reporting units report their data to the administrative source (ARSO) in two different ways:

-       by using IS-Odpadki application;

-       by ODP-nastajanje questionnaire in .xls format prepared by ARSO, only those original waste generators who do not yet have access to application IS-Odpadki. In this case they submit .xls questionnaire from ARSO website, they fill it and send it via email to ARSO.

The basis for calculating amount of generated waste for the reference year 2020were ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava statistical surveys. The data were supplemented with the data (on temporary storage and export) from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, reports on waste generation in production and service activities).

 

  • Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey): within this survey SURS obtained data from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO) on the collected/received amount of waste and its subsequent flows from all business entities, from different areas of the standard classification of activities, that collect waste from other business entities while performing their activity but did not recycle or dispose of it in their company. For further treatment, they have either shipped or exported waste to business entities that have an adequate environmental permit for recovery or disposal. The Waste Collection survey thus includes all business entities to which the municipality has granted the right to implement the mandatory public services of municipal waste collection and all business entities that are entered into the records of waste collectors at the ARSO register. In 2020 SURS observed about 300 units within Waste Collection survey.

Reporting units for ODP-zbiranje survey report their data to administrative source - trough the IS-Odpadki application, which is maintained and managed by ARSO.

This survey also represents a data source for data on waste export and for the reference year 2020 it is also one of the data sources for the production of data within Waste Generation survey.

 

  • Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey): within this survey SURS obtained data from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO) on the amount and method of recovery and/or disposal of waste, data on waste disposal at landfill sites (municipal waste landfill sites, industrial waste landfill sites and hazardous waste landfill sites), data on treatment of mixed municipal waste within mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant, and data on waste import and export. Reporting units within ODP-obdelava survey are all business entities, registered at ARSO, who have an environmental permit for the recovery and/or disposal of waste, including landfill operators (municipal landfill sites, industrial landfill sites and hazardous waste landfill sites) and also contractors for MBT of mixed municipal waste. This survey also includes business entities with environmental permits that carry out recovery/disposal of their own waste, resulting from their activity.

From the reference year 2018, the Waste Recovery/Disposal survey is also one of the data sources for the production of data within Waste Generation survey.

In 2020 about 600 units were observed within Waste recovery/disposal survey. Reporting units for ODP-obdelava survey must report their data through the IS-Odpadki application, which is maintained and managed by ARSO.

3.2. Frequency of data collection

All data on waste generation and waste treatment and also data on waste treatment facilities are obtained from the administrative source (application IS-Odpadki, managed by ARSO). Data from the administrative source are obtained by SURS two times in a year (by the end of the reporting period - in the beginning of April - and the second time by the end of May). 

3.3. Data collection

All data on waste generation and waste treatment and also data on waste treatment facilities are obtained from the administrative source (application IS-Odpadki, managed by ARSO).

Data on waste generation from production and service activities are acquired from:

  • Waste Generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey);
  • Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey) – municipal waste collected from production and service activities.

 

Data on waste generation from households are obtained from:

  • Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey):
    • municipal waste collected from households. Since 2017, survey is carried out through IS-Odpadki application in the form of e-reporting, managed by Slovenian Environment Agency (hereinafter referred to as ARSO). 
  • Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey):
    • data on end-of-life vehicles (EWC-Stat. 08.120 and 08.121). Regarding the allocation of end-of-life vehicles by NACE rev. 2 activities, end-of-life vehicles of unknown origin to the service sector (G-U exl. G 46.77) were included as Eurostat recommended on the meeting of the Working group on waste statistics in March 2018.
    • data on construction and demolition waste (C&D waste). Amounts of mentioned waste that households bring to waste collection centres by themselves.

Data on treated waste amount are obtained from:

  • Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey).

Data on the number, capacity of waste recovery and disposal facilities are obtained from the administrative source of the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning (MOP) that is the responsible institution for granting environmental permits for recovery and/or disposal of waste.

Data on the number and rest capacity of landfill sites and data on the number of closed landfill sites are also obtained from administrative source of the MOP.

3.4. Data validation

Comparison over time (in comparison with data from the reference year 2018):

Total waste generation by NACE Rev. 2

C10-12

Lower amount of waste generated are the result of decreased amount of Mixed and undifferentiated Materials (W102).

C13-15

Significantly lower amount of waste generated are the result of decreased amount of W032, W076, W091, W101 and W126 waste due to Covid-19 pandemic and lower production in those activities.

C16

Significantly lower amount of waste generated are the result of decreased amount of W061, W101, W126 and W127 waste due to Covid-19 pandemic and lower production in this activity.

E38

Increase in amount of waste generated are the result of increased amount of W061, W063, W071, W072, W091, W092, W101 and W102 waste.

F

Higher amount of waste generated are the result of increased amount of W101, W126 and C&D waste (W121).

G-U

Lower amount of waste generated are the result of decreased amount of W072, W074, W091, W092, W101, W103, W124 and W127 waste.

Hazardous waste generation by NACE Rev. 2

Higher amount of hazardous waste due to increased amount of W011, W081 and W124 generated waste.

Waste generation by EWC-Stat

01.3

In accordance with Eurostat recommendations, quantities were converted to dry matter using a conversion factor proposed by Eurostat.

06

Small decrease in amount of metal waste.

06.2

Lower amounts for r.y. 2020 are the result of decrease of the amounts of waste generated by three of the biggest reporting units.

07.2

Decrease in amount due to decreased consumption and also smaller amount of separately collected fractions of waste.

07.4

Small decrease in amount of plastic waste due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

07.5

Small decrease in amount of wood waste due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

08.1

Increase in amount of discarded vehicles waste.

10.2

 Small decrease in amount of mixed and undifferentiated waste.

10.3

Lower amounts of waste is the result of a decrease of the amounts of waste generated by three of the biggest reporting units.

11

Decrease in amount of common sludges waste due to one of reporting unit, which did not report correctly this waste.

C&D waste

The amount of C&D waste generated in 2020 decreased in most of activities due to the due to Covid-19 pandemic and lower production in the construction sector.

Treatment by operation

Backfilling

The amount of backfilling has decreased sharply due to decreased amounts of C&D waste resulting from decreased construction activity and general decrease of final treatment processes due to Covid-19 restrictions (lockdowns).

Recycling

Lower amount of waste generated results in less amount of waste recycled.

Deposit onto or into land

Increase in amount of landfilled waste despite of less waste generated.

Treatment by EWC-Stat

03.3

Due to a new biogas plants operating since 2018 the recovery W033 'Sludges and liquid waste from waste treatment' increased considerably.

 

Other validation

Relation generation / treatment (totals)

Data for the reference year 2020 are more reliable since the methodological process is fully focused on following the waste streams.

Implausible combinations treatment operation / waste categories

None.

Treated amounts vs. treatment capacities (incineration)

R1 – energy recovery

Treated amounts do not exceed treatment capacities.

D10 – incineration

3.5. Data compilation
The procedures for imputation are not applicable in our case. 
Aggregates and complex statistics are calculated with the help of software program for statistical data processing.
Non-response did not occur in any of the three surveys (ODP-nastajanje survey, ODP-zbiranje survey, ODP-obdelava survey).
Calibration and procedures for combining input data from different sources are not applicable in our case.
3.6. Adjustment

Seasonal adjustment procedures are not applicable in our case.

Regarding certain categories of waste such as 11 Common sludges, recalculation was made to estimate amounts of waste in dry matter which belong to particular cells in Table 1 (WASTE GENERATION) and consequently to the total amount of sludges which were generated in Slovenia in the reference year 2020.

Vast majority of sludges were, according to the instructions for reporting units, already reported in dry matter by the original waste generators themselves. Exception was one category of sludges within group 11 Common sludges by EWC-Stat classification, namely sludges from municipal waste water treatment plants (LoW code: 19 08 05) which were also reported by waste generators as wet. Therefore, according to the instructions of Eurostat, it was necessary to convert this data. Data source for conversion of sludges from wet to dry matter were obtained from the administrative source (ARSO), from the annual reports of municipal waste water treatment operators, which, in accordance with the legislation in force, must be prepared as part of the operational monitoring of municipal waste water treatment plants. In the framework of these reports, the operators of municipal waste water treatment plants should also report, inter alia, the weight of the dry state of the sludges generated on their treatment plant.

All sludges from households were already reported as dry so SURS didn’t convert them. Sludges from households are generated on municipal wastewater treatment plants and are also partially processed there with the process of dehydration of digestate with centrifuge and drying in a drying drum. The result is sludges in the dry matter, which go to further treatment.

Sludges from category 03.2 Industrial effluent sludges were also not converted. In the working phase of control SURS found out that all major waste producers in industry already report their sludges in dry state.

Data on the amount of used oils (group 1.3 by EWC-Stat classification) was also converted to dry state, using the converting methods/factors proposed by Eurostat: For waste oils other than emulsions, the dry content can alternatively be determined on the basis of a water content of 8%. The dry oil in emulsions of industrial oils the dry content can alternatively be determined on the basis of a water content of 90%.


4. Quality management Top
4.1. Quality assurance

Quality assurance information is available via quality reports prepared annually at the end of surveys - when data are publicly available. Quality reports in english are available on or website:

https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/File/DocSysFile/11058
https://www.stat.si/statweb/File/DocSysFile/11060
https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/File/DocSysFile/11062
4.2. Quality management - assessment

Quality assurance information is available via quality reports prepared annually at the end of surveys - when data are publicly available. Quality reports in english are available on or website:

https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/File/DocSysFile/11058
https://www.stat.si/statweb/File/DocSysFile/11060
https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/File/DocSysFile/11062


5. Relevance Top

The primary users of the processed statistical data are:

  • public services: Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning (MOP) and Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) for the purpose of monitoring compliance with legislative requirements and for the purpose of determining the quality of waste legislation. Agency for Regional Development, City of Ljubljana (MOL) - Centre for Informatics, Office for Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, Forestry Institute, providers of mandatory municipal utilities for environmental protection. The Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development, which uses data for estimates and (economic) forecasts. Communities and enterprises require data for their own (mostly) planning purposes. Etc.
  • business entities: Legal entities (waste managers and collectors of waste, public services, Fit media LLC), environmental and other non-governmental organizations (Umanotera, Ecologists without Borders Association, etc.).
  • media: Various media institutions like scientific magazines and electronic media (Gospodarski vestnik, Finance, Dnevnik, Delo, Professional Magazines (EOL), Radio-Television Slovenia, and other radio and television broadcasters (POP TV, Svet na kanalu A), online media.
  • science, research and education: Colleges, grammar schools and other high schools, institutes, libraries are also interested for the processed data because of educational purposes e.g. seminar papers, bachelor’s thesis, diploma thesis, master’s thesis, etc.
  • foreign users: independent or state research institutions for the purpose of implementing the various studies (Eurostat, OECD, EEA, Eionet, statistical offices of other countries, international NGOs).
  • general public
  • internal users: as the basis for further analyses in different statistical surveys within SURS (Environment and Energy Statistics section, Editorial, Board, other sections).
  • others.
5.1. Relevance - User Needs

We do not measure this information. 

5.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction

SURS measured general user satisfaction for the last time in 2018. Respondents assessed general satisfaction with SURS with the average score of 7.5 (on a scale from 1 – disagree completely to 10 – agree completely).

We do not measure user satisfaction separately for waste statistics data. 

5.3. Completeness

Not relevant in our case.

 

Description of missing data in data set 1 on waste generation

Description of missing data
(waste category, economic activity, ..)

Explanation

How to overcome the deficit

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

 

Description of missing data in data sets 2 and 3 on treated waste amount and capacities

Description of missing data
(waste category, treatment category, region, ..)

Explanation

How to overcome the deficit

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

/

No M flags are used within the transmitted data sets.

Since Slovenia is a relatively small country, in 2020 in some cases (certain NACE Rev. 2 activities and certain EWC-Stat codes) less than 1 ton of waste were generated or treated. Those values are minor, but in a case of small country as ours, SURS can talk about adequate amount of particular waste stream.

 
5.3.1. Data completeness - rate

Completeness of statistical data is 100 %. 

All data cells in all reported tables are fulfilled.


6. Accuracy and reliability Top
6.1. Accuracy - overall

Answers are available in chapters 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6.

6.2. Sampling error

The surveys were not conducted on the basis of a random sample, therefore sampling error was not calculated. Data on waste generation for the reference year 2020 were recalculated from Waste collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey) and Waste recovery/disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey). Within Waste generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey) all units – all waste generators (business entities and through public services also households) that in the observed year (2020) submitted waste to waste collectors or processors (for recovery or disposal) were covered. Data on waste generated in the observed year were supplemented with data on temporary storage and export of waste from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ODP-nastajanje report), managed by ARSO.

 

Observed units within the surveys on waste collection (ODP-zbiranje survey) and waste recovery/disposal (ODP-obdelava survey), are all (full coverage) waste collectors and all waste treaters, including landfill sites operators.

Observed units were taken from the records of waste collectors and waste treaters (recoverers and disposers of waste, landfill sites operators) kept at ARSO.

6.2.1. Sampling error - indicators

The coefficient of variation was not calculated because of full coverage in all surveys on waste generation (ODP-nastajanje survey) and waste treatment (ODP-zbiranje survey, ODP-obdelava survey).

Totals and coefficients of variation for the key aggregates

Key aggregate

Amount of hazardous waste

[1000 tons]

Amount of Non-hazardous waste

[1000 tons]

Coefficient of variation hazardous waste
[%]

Coefficient of variation non-hazardous waste
[%]

Waste generation

Waste generated by households

4,9

625

/

/

Waste generated by economic activities

127,5

 6,761

/

/

Waste treatment

Waste used as fuel (item 1) (incineration in the form of recovery R1)

3

188

/

/

Waste incinerated (item 2) (incineration as disposal D10)

7

31

/

/

Waste recovered (R2 – R11), incl. backfilling (item 3a and 3b)

39

6,516

/

/

Waste disposed of by landfilling (D1, D5, D12) and other disposal operations (D2, D3, D4, D6, D7) (item 4 and 5)

12

348

/

/

6.3. Non-sampling error

Determination of extractive waste generation

 

Coverage of waste statistics with regard to extractive waste1)

Coverage

Topsoil

Overburden

Waste-rock

Tailings
(non-haz.)

Completely covered

 

 

 

 

Partially covered

X

X

X

X

Generally excluded

 

 

 

 

1) An X is marked whether the listed materials are completely covered, partially covered or generally excluded from waste statistics.

 

It all depends on where these “material or waste” were treated. If “materials” like topsoil, overburden, waste-rock and tailings from mining activities are managed (crushing, sieving, etc.) on the site where they were generated and were also used on place of their origin (for example for backfilling, for dikes, etc.), without the need of environmental permits (issued by ARSO), than in our case are not considered as waste and are excluded from reporting on waste generation and waste treatment. Also this type of material can be identified as by-product under national Decree on waste and no longer as waste, but only if certain legally determined standards are fulfilled.

Regarding allocation of waste from mining and quarrying to NACE activities, SURS do not have information on problems in the allocation of mining waste to NACE Rev. 2 section B or C. Slovenia also does not have many activities that would produce such waste.

Data on the NACE Rev. 2 activity of observed units within the ODP-nastajanje survey are carefully reviewed. Within the observed units, SURS distinguish between NACE Rev. 2 activity which is defined within the Business Register of the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter refereed as PRS) and the “statistical” NACE Rev. 2 activity which is actually performed by certain observed units and is defined in the statistical business register named SPRS. SURS is reviewing the adequacy of NACE Rev. 2 activities in the context of so called NACE group. The existing practice of classifying the units within the PRS requires business subjects to determine the main activity for them and their units. Since this variable is statistically very important, the NACE group seeks to ensure that the NACE Rev. 2 activity registered in PRS represents the actual state, especially for the most important major units, which have the major impact on the dissemination of statistical data. Within its work frame, the group priority is to disclose the incorrect classified NACE Rev. 2 activities in PRS for important major business subjects and their units. The group uses the available data from statistical surveys, publicly available information for business subjects and even direct contacts with those subjects, if needed. The group also helps business units in order to choose and enter the proper code of business activity into PRS.

6.3.1. Coverage error

In the reference year 2020, regarding industrial effluent sludges, data obtained with statistical surveys were compared and upgraded with data obtained from the administrative source (annual reports of municipal waste water treatment operators, which in accordance with the legislation in force, must be prepared as part of the operational monitoring of municipal waste water treatment plants) to assure full coverage and reporting of amounts of industrial effluent sludges in dry condition.

Also full coverage of the waste treatment facilities is provided, so none of the waste treatment facilities is excluded from the reporting. Data on the number and capacities of waste treatment facilities were obtained from and confirmed by ARSO.

 

Coverage of waste treatment facilities and criteria for exclusion

 

No. of facilities included

No. of facilities excluded

Reasons for exclusion of facilities
and other comments

Item 1 Incineration (R1)

12

/

/

Item 2 Incineration (D10)

3

/

/

Item 3a Recycling (R2-R11)

456

/

/

Item 3b Backfilling

387

/

/

Item 4 Landfilling
(D1, D5, D12)

17

/

/

Item 5 Other disposal
(D2, D3, D4, D6, D7)

/

/

/

 

For the Waste generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey) the share of over-coverage for the observed year 2020 is equal to 0, as data on amounts of waste generated are taken from the ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava surveys. Therefore there were no unsuitable units, as all units that have submitted waste for further treatment in the observed year, whether they completed the report by the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application) that the waste was temporarily stored or exported abroad, were included in the survey.

In the ODP-nastajanje survey, the observed statistical population is consistent with the population from an administrative source and therefore there are also no errors due to undercoverage. Problems could be caused only by units that, in the observed year, otherwise produced waste, which they either did not send on further treatment in the same year but instead temporarily stored or exported it abroad and didn’t report those amounts to the administrative source. In this case, the record sheets, which are the basis for the creation of reports within the administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ARSO) are not created. If they are not created the original generator (primary waste generator) must manually complete the report in IS-Odpadki application or on xls form, prepared by administrator of the administrative source (ARSO).

 

There are no problems with under- and over-coverage in both ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava surveys, since they are based on the full coverage of the population.

 

The amount of municipal waste collected mostly from service activities (enterprises/shops) in the framework of the public waste collection scheme is assessed by composition of questionnaire by reporting units (public services). In the administrative source - questionnaire within the ODP-zbiranje survey there are two different columns that define the source of generated municipal waste (amount collected within public collection):

  • from households;
  • from production and service activities.

Hence the reporting units themselves already divide (estimate) the collected amount of municipal waste according to the source of their production.

A certain part of municipal waste are collected by special waste collectors with a record sheet and in such  case the source (activity of generation) of municipal waste is not in question.

6.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate

Not relevant in our case.

6.3.1.2. Common units - proportion

Not relevant in our case.

6.3.2. Measurement error

Observed units included within all surveys on waste generation and waste treatment are in accordance with the rules, valid for the business register. Main units in the business register are enterprises.

All collected data are measured in kilograms (kg) of waste, so there are no problems with validation of collected data.

Upon expiration of the reporting deadline (31st March of the current year for the previous year), ARSO submited micro data for all three surveys (ODP-nastajanje survey, ODP-zbiranje survey, ODP-obdelava survey) conducted by reporting units via the IS-Odpadki application via the SURS exchange server. Afterward, precise control and analysis of the data were performed using SURS data application, on the basis of which automatic and manual – individual corrections were made at SURS. Subsequently a comparison between the tables within each survey (Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey) and Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey)) was made, followed by a comparison of data from the previous reference year and a comparison of data between ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava surveys.

Some examples of the logical controls used in the SURS data application for the ODP-zbiranje survey:

  • in the box where the waste number is entered, the six-digit number from the Waste Classification List from Annex 4 of the Decree on Waste (OJ RS, No 37/15, 69/15, 129/20) must be entered;
  • the amount of waste collected must be equal to the amount of waste further handled by waste collector;
  • comparison of the data for the reference year with the data from the previous year, according to the same waste classification number;
  • linking Table 2 (collected amounts of municipal waste) to Table 3 (collected amounts of municipal waste from households and from the production and service activities);
  • linking Table 2 (collected amounts of municipal waste) to Table 4 (collected amount of municipal waste by municipality);
  • linking Table 5 (delivered amounts) from the Waste Collection survey with Table 2 (collected amounts) from the Waste Recovery/Disposal survey;
  • etc.

 

Some examples of logical controls in the SURS data application for the Waste Recovery/Disposal survey:

  • in the box where the waste number is entered, the six-digit number from the Waste Classification List from Annex 4 of the Decree on Waste (OJ RS, No 37/15, 69/15 and 129/20) must be entered;
  • in the fields where the process of recovery (R) or disposal (D) is entered, the number from the lists of recovery operations and disposal operations, which are published in Annex 2 or Annex 3 of the Decree on Waste (OJ RS, No 37/15, 69 /15 and 129/20) with certain restrictions, must be entered;
  • linking Table 1 (storage) to Table 2 (collected amounts) and Table 3 (recovered/disposed amounts);
  • linking Table 3 (recovered/disposed amounts) to Table 7 (landfill sites capacity);
  • linking Table 3 (recovered/disposed amounts) to Table 8 (disposed amounts on landfill sites);
  • linking Table 5 to Table 9 (landfilled amounts by municipality);
  • comparison of the data with the data from the previous year, according to the waste treatment processes;
  • linking Table 2 (collected amounts) from the Waste Recovery/Disposal survey with Table 5 (delivered amounts) from the Waste Collection survey;
  • etc.

 

After completing the statistical data processing and analyzing the data within the ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava surveys, micro data on waste generation in production and service activities are prepared using software program Microsoft Excel. Municipal waste (waste in the groups 15 01 and 20) data are excluded from micro data and are afterwards analyzed and treated as part of the ODP-zbiranje survey. In the context of micro-level data analysis, data on the amounts of generated waste are compared with:

  • data from the record sheet database (hereinafter referred to as EVL) - data from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki, ARSO);
  • data from the previous year (by type of waste, hazardous of waste, generation activity, recovery or disposal of waste, etc.).

 

Errors or deficiencies identified through statistical controls are resolved using data from an administrative source (IS-Odpadki application), data from the previous year, and in exceptional (rare) cases (in the case of larger units), the survey methodologist connects with the reporting unit (by phone or email) and together they adjust, correct or complete the report.

 

Filling in the web-forms in the IS-Odpadki application (administrative source) for all three surveys (ODP-nastajanje survey, ODP-zbiranje survey, ODP-obdelava survey) does not pose any major problems for reporting units. Reporting units for all three mentioned surveys are companies, which are familiar with obligation and content of reporting. Behind web-forms in IS-Odpadki application, a validation tool (control software) is also implemented, so reporting units are immediately alerted in case of wrong data input. In addition, questionnaires in the framework of reporting through the IS-Odpadki application are pre-filled on the basis of data from the record (transport) sheets, so the main duty of the reporting unit is to supplement the questionnaire if necessary (with data on temporary storage, import and export) and confirm the accuracy of the data.

It is similar with questionnaires in XLS format which are used by administrative source (ARSO) as one of the options for data reporting on waste generation (administrative source for ODP-nastajanje survey); some simple controls are already implemented in xls sheet, so any plausible errors may be immediately visible.

 

The main reasons for incorrect or insufficient reporting of data via IS-Odpadki application (administrative source) are as follows:

  • replacement of the person responsible for filling in and submitting the report;
  • the person who fills in and submits the report in the IS-Odpadki application reads the instructions superficially or does not read them at all;
  • the person who fills in and submits the report in the IS-Odpadki application performs the task superficially and does not enter all the variables;
  • records sheet is not filled up correctly;
  • the reporting unit reports amount of waste using the wrong metric units (e.g. in litres, pieces or m3 instead of kilograms);
  • reporting units first time included in the survey (units that have newly obtained an environmental permit) are not aware of the content and do not understand the instructions;
  • reporting units are failing to comply with the mandatory reporting obligations;
  • etc.
6.3.3. Non response error

Non-response errors did not occur in any of the three surveys (ODP-nastajanje survey, ODP-zbiranje survey, ODP-obdelava survey). All units with environmental permits (for waste collection and waste recovery/disposal) are obliged to report via IS-Odpadki application (ARSO). After the reporting deadline (31st of March of the current year for the previous year) in case of non-reporting they are again invited to report their data by ARSO. Units that did not carry out collection activities or recovery/disposal activities in the observed year must also prepare the report containing a note on why they did not prepare it. For example the unit should write a note that they did not collect or treat any waste in the observed year and therefore they submit an empty questionnaire.

For 2020, about 600 units were covered in the Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey) and about 300 units in the Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey).

Data for ODP-nastajanje survey were prepared using data from ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava surveys, within which SURS observed around 14,000 units for the reference year 2020.

Data for the observed units that did not return questionnaire using IS-Odpadki application, despite prompting of ARSO, for ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava surveys were imputed with data from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki, ARSO) using data from the database of record (transport) sheets for the reference year 2020.

6.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate

Not relevant in our case. For more information see chapter 6.3.3.

6.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate

Not relevant in our case. For more information see chapter 6.3.3.

6.3.4. Processing error

SURS may cause some errors when transferring micro data from the administrative source to the database (ORA3) and while using the SURS data application, but there are very few such errors. In most cases such errors are detected and corrected in the control phase.

After performing data analysis on micro level (using SURS data application and Microsoft Excel for individual corrections) the initial tables with aggregated data (macro level) from the “Oracle” database were prepared and thoroughly examined in order to eliminate the possible few remaining errors.

Reasons for probability of any processing errors occurring within ODP-nastajanje survey originate from errors made in the control phase of the Waste Collection (ODP-zbiranje survey) and Waste Recovery/disposal (ODP-obdelava survey) surveys, which are main data sources for the Waste Generation survey (ODP-nastajanje survey).

The problem with ODP-nastajanje survey is that statistical data processing is still taking place in Microsoft Excel, at least until SURS find a more suitable tool. 

The most common processing errors identified within all three surveys were:

  • discrepancy between amount of waste category generated and amount of waste category treated especially within the ODP-obdelava survey where waste stream control is not provided;
  • incorrect amounts of waste caused by using the wrong metric unit (data were inserted in a wrong unit – tons instead of kg);
  • reporting amounts of material which actually are not waste by national Decree on waste (e.g. a trading company included amounts of package, which was sold together with products among reported waste, or a business subject reported amounts of package, which was being re-used in their business activity within the same location, among waste);
  • another problem on national level also presents reporting on C&D waste. The legislation on reporting of C&D waste in Slovenia is still not properly regulated, so there is inconsistency of information on who is responsible for reporting on generated amounts of C&D waste - contractor or investor. SURS is, in order to solve this problem, collaborating with MOP and ARSO.

 

On national level, data on waste are coded according to the European List of Waste (LoW) classification. For reporting purposes of Waste Statistic Regulation, SURS prepared data according to WStatR classification by using conversion factors as described in Directive No 849/2010/EC.

Type of treatment operations is in accordance with the explanations in the Manual on Waste Statistics. Coding errors regarding type of treatment operation were problematic for small enterprises. Usually they do not know which code they should report in the questionnaire. Mostly they did not fill that category and SURS filled it on the basis of data from environmental protection permits issued. During data analysis on micro level SURS compared data on reported waste treatment processes (R and D processes) by reporting units with data on treatment processes issued by environmental permits for reporting units.         

Observed units with activities in more than one region must define the region of waste origin within the questionnaire – (administrative source) for each waste separately. The origin of waste (generation, collection and treatment) is one of the variables within the questionnaires of administrative source (data are allocated by statistical region within questionnaire).

For reporting on household waste regarding WStatR classification the data from ODP-zbiranje survey - column from households (all municipal waste) and other waste like C&D waste were used.

Reporting of data on end-of-life vehicles breakdown by activity was prepared – estimate was made on the basis of data from the administrative source (Central Register of Vehicles).

The estimation on how much waste originates from households and how much from production and service activities was made by reporting units (via IS-Odpadki application).

6.3.4.1. Imputation - rate

Data for the observed units that did not return questionnaire using IS-Odpadki application, despite prompting of ARSO, for ODP-zbiranje and ODP-obdelava surveys were imputed with data from the administrative source (IS-Odpadki, ARSO) using data from the database of record (transport) sheets for the reference year 2020.

6.3.5. Model assumption error

Not relevant in our case.

6.4. Seasonal adjustment

Not relevant in our case.

6.5. Data revision - policy

Changes compared with previous years

 

Questionnaires for data collection were upgraded and improved in order to obtain more data and also more detailed data. As well Table 4a was added, which also provides information on materials that have lost their waste status. 

The mentioned methodological changes mainly caused changes in data processing and in the presentation of data according to the source of waste generation (by NACE Rev. 2), waste collection and waste recovery/disposal, but did not cause breaks in the time series, therefore all-time points that refer to the total amounts of waste are comparable.

Within reporting by WStatR for reference year 2020 SURS also:

  • prepared more reliable estimation of the distribution of municipal waste generated, collected by public services within public municipal waste collection by NACE Rev. 2 activity, based on the data reported by original waste generator;
  • converted used oils (group 1.3 by EWC-Stat classification) into dry state according to Eurostat instructions, using conversion factors that Eurostat suggested.

 

There were no other significant methodological changes compared with the previous reference years.

The biggest changes in the data (deviations) were mainly due to the situation in 2020 - the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Foreseen changes

SURS plans on continuing the collaborating with ARSO for upgrading the IS-Odpadki application in the sense of improving the quality of reported data (to include more logical controls) by waste generators, waste collectors and waste treaters/disposers, which in turn will improve the quality of administrative source.

Our goal is to continue our work on improving the validation of the data before sending it to Eurostat. Our focus will primarily be on a comparison of data with the data from previous year (by type of waste and according to the NACE Rev. 2 classification) and to the relationship between hazardous - non-hazardous waste and between generated - treated waste.

6.6. Data revision - practice

See chapter 6.5.

6.6.1. Data revision - average size

See chapter 6.5.


7. Timeliness and punctuality Top
7.1. Timeliness

Key steps in the compilation of the statistics on the waste generation and treatment for r. y. 2020

 

7.1.1. Time lag - first result

As part of the first release of data on waste, SURS publishes data on the generation and treatment of municipal waste, data on the generation and treatment of waste from production and service activities, including the quantities of collected waste by waste collectors and the quantities of treated waste by waste processors obtained by SURS in cooperation with ARSO. The data published in the first release are also the final data, so the timeliness of the final results is equal to the timeliness of the first release (timeliness of the final results).

7.1.2. Time lag - final result

As part of the first release of data on waste, SURS publishes data on the generation and treatment of municipal waste, data on the generation and treatment of waste from production and service activities, including the quantities of collected waste by waste collectors and the quantities of treated waste by waste processors obtained by SURS in cooperation with ARSO. The data published in the first release are also the final data, so the timeliness of the final results is equal to the timeliness of the first release (timeliness of the final results).

 

Timeliness of the final results:

Reference period

End of the reference period

Date of publishing

Time lag (in months)

2018

31.12.2018

9.10.2019

9

2019

31.12.2019

8.10.2020

9

2020

31.12.2020

21.9.2021

9
7.2. Punctuality

Punctuality of the first results:

Reference period

Announced date

Date of publishing

Time lag (in days)

2018

9.10.2019

9.10.2019

0

2019

8.10.2020

8.10.2020

0

2020

21.9.2021

21.9.2021

0

7.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication

See chapter 7.2.


8. Coherence and comparability Top
8.1. Comparability - geographical

SURS is the only provider of the core data for waste statistics for Slovenia in accordance with the requirements of the WStatR, so there is no comparability problems regarding plausible different methodologies.

Regional comparability of data on waste treatment facilities are validated on level of location where specific treatment facilities are operating. Within the environmental permit for waste treatment it is precisely defined for which facilities a specified environmental permit was issued and on which location this treatment facility is going to be operating. If mobile treatment facilities are operating at different locations within the same statistical region, then SURS try to identify it in a certain statistical region. If mobile treatment facilities are located in different statistical regions, then they are allocated to location of parent entity.

8.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient

Not relevant in our case.

8.2. Comparability - over time

Considering Decree on waste (OJ RS, No. 37/2015, 69/2015) and Regulation on Landfills (Decree on waste landfill (OJ RS, No. 10/14, 54/15 in 36/16)), SURS and ARSO, as mentioned above, have established the collaboration for data collection on waste from production and service activities (since 2002) and municipal waste data (since 2005). Since 2009 until 2015 surveys in the field of municipal waste (KO-Z and KO-U) have been carried out in collaboration with MOP and from 2016 on again in collaboration with ARSO. Beside those regulations, there are also some additional legal basis for the data source. The questionnaires are based on the annexes of the Decree on waste and Regulation on Landfills. Other legal bases for the data source related to statistical procedures are National Statistics Act and valid Annual program of statistical surveys.

In short, in formulating the methodology SURS took into account the current Slovenian legislation in the field of waste management and also requirements of Waste Statistic Regulation (WStatR). SURS also incorporated methodological elements of the United Nations related to the field of environment statistics.

 

Comparability over time is being assured from the year 2002 onwards. The data before year 2002 (1992, 1995, 1998 and 2001) are not comparable. The main reason for that is that they were processed by using a completely different methodology, different directory of reporting units, different waste classification and different questionnaires. Waste classification changed from survey to survey and the selection of reporting units was smaller. In 2002 a new national methodology for waste statistics was prepared and collaboration with ARSO was established.

In 2017 a comprehensive revision of all waste surveys was carried out at SURS. On the basis of the requirements of the national Decree on waste (OJ RS, No. 37/15 and 69/15), the questionnaires and the IS-Odpadki application (administrative source) were supplemented with the aim of tracking the entire waste stream from generation to final waste processing (entire waste stream). More information about mentioned revision is already included in chapter 5: Major Changes - Changes compared with previous years.

In 2020, data from the Waste collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey), Waste recovery/disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey) and data from an administrative source (IS-Odpadki application, ODP-nastajanje reporting, ARSO) were taken to produce data on the amount of waste generated in production and service activities (ODP-nastajanje survey).

8.2.1. Length of comparable time series

Length of comparable time series:

Reference period

Statistics

First comparable time period

Length of comparable time series

2020

Waste Generated

2002

19

8.3. Coherence - cross domain

In Slovenia there are no related reference surveys to allow direct data comparison. SURS is the official provider of data on waste statistics.

The data reported in the context of various waste surveys (ODP-nastajanje survey, ODP-zbiranje survey and ODP-obdelava survey) are mutually compared in the control phase. This ensures that, in the context of different surveys, flows of the same waste are not duplicated. Amounts of waste sent to further treatment by the primary waste generators (within the ODP-nastajanje survey) are expected to match the amounts of waste received by waste collectors (within the ODP-zbiranje survey) and by waste processors (within the ODP-obdelava survey). During control phase the data reported in the framework of the Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey) is compared with the data reported within Waste Recovery/Disposal survey (ODP-obdelava survey) and vice versa (ODP-obdelava survey with ODP-zbiranje survey.

8.4. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics

See chapter 8.3.

8.5. Coherence - National Accounts

See chapter 8.3.

8.6. Coherence - internal

See chapter 8.3.


9. Accessibility and clarity Top

Data are published annually on national level using LoW classification. Data are first published in Slovenia in the form of the first release on the SURS’s website, before they are reported to Eurostat. Data reported to Eurostat are issued using EWC-Stat classification and in accordance with the methodology described in the Manual on Waste Statistics issued by Eurostat (2013 edition).

Additional informations regarding statistical surveys on waste, methodology on data collection and other methodological materials are available in the methodological explanations, published on the SURS website, containing contact information of experts on waste statistics:

https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/File/DocSysFile/11058

https://www.stat.si/statweb/File/DocSysFile/11060

https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/File/DocSysFile/11062

Results of all waste surveys are published in accordance with the SURS confidentiality principles in aggregate form in absolute numbers and various indicators (e.g. amount per capita, share of deposited waste in relation to the generated waste, etc.).

9.1. Dissemination format - News release

Data are published:

Annually:

  • SiStat Database: Environment and Natural Resources - Environment - Waste.
  • The data are published in the form of an absolute value and are broken down by: LOW (European List of Waste), EWC-Stat (statistical list of wastes), NACE Rev. 2, NUTS
  • First Release (Environment, Waste): 'Waste, Slovenia, annually "
  • Special publication on memorial days
  • Statøbook
  • European Statistical Office (Eurostat), the European Environment Agency (EEA)

Occasionally:

  • Publications (Food among Waste, A Teaspoon of Data on Food; Green Growth Indicators; Environment, Energy and Transport in Figures; Tree, Forest, Wood; Sustainable Development Indicators for Slovenia)
  • STAGE application
9.2. Dissemination format - Publications
  • Statøbook
  • Brochures (Food among Waste; A Teaspoon of Data on Food; Green Growth Indicators; Environment, Energy and Transport in Figures; Tree, Forest, Wood; Sustainable Development Indicators for Slovenia)
9.3. Dissemination format - online database

SiStat Database: Environment and Natural Resources - Environment - Waste. The data are published in the form of an absolute value and are broken down by: LOW (European List of Waste), EWC-Stat (statistical list of wastes), NACE Rev. 2, NUTS

9.3.1. Data tables - consultations

Not relevant in our case.

9.4. Dissemination format - microdata access

Micro-data are not disseminated. More information is available on SURS website: https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/en/StaticPages/Index/For-Researchers

9.5. Dissemination format - other

See chapters 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4.

9.6. Documentation on methodology

Methodological explanations:

  • Waste Generation (ODP-nastajanje) survey
  • Waste Collection (ODP-zbiranje) survey
  • Waste Recovery/Disposal (ODP-obdelava) survey

Theme: Environment, Subtheme: Waste

Methodological explanations for the waste statistics surveys on SURS’s website are available at https://www.stat.si/statweb/en/Methods/QuestionnairesMethodologicalExplanationsQualityReports.

 

Quality reports for the surveys: 

  • Waste Generation (ODP-nastajanje) survey
  • Waste Collection (ODP-zbiranje) survey
  • Waste Recovery/Disposal (ODP-obdelava) survey
 
Theme: Environment, Subtheme: Waste
Quality reports for the waste statistics surveys on SURS’s website are available at https://www.stat.si/statweb/Methods/QuestionnairesMethodologicalExplanationsQualityReports
 
9.7. Quality management - documentation

The Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia operates on the basis of the National Statistics Act and Regulation (EC) No. 223/2009 on European statistics; in performing its tasks it follows the general principles of quality management, the European Statistics Code of Practice and the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics. 

More information is available on the SURS website under Quality in national statistics https://www.stat.si/statweb/en/FundamentalPrinciples/QualityInStat
9.7.1. Metadata completeness - rate

Not relevant in our case.

9.7.2. Metadata - consultations

Not relevant in our case.


10. Cost and Burden Top

All data on waste generation and waste treatment and also data on waste treatment facilities are obtained from the administrative source (application IS-Odpadki, managed by ARSO), so the SURS’s surveys do not cause additional burden on the reporting units.

SURS's costs for waste statistics surveys are based on costs arising from the office hours of the employees working on surveys. 
Since 2014, ARSO has released the information system IS-Odpadki application for reporting, by which the material costs for SURS were downsized (costs of printing questionnaires and methodological documents were eliminated). 
 


11. Confidentiality Top

Data are published annually on national level using LoW classification. Data are first published in Slovenia in the form of the first release on the SURS’s website, before they are reported to Eurostat. Data reported to Eurostat are issued using EWC-Stat classification and in accordance with the methodology described in the Manual on Waste Statistics issued by Eurostat (2013 edition).

Additional informations regarding statistical surveys on waste, methodology on data collection and other methodological materials are available in the methodological explanations,published on the SURS website, containing contact information of experts on waste statistics.

Results of all waste surveys are published in accordance with the SURS confidentiality principles in aggregate form in absolute numbers and various indicators (e.g. amount per capita, share of deposited waste in relation to the generated waste, etc.).

 

 

11.1. Confidentiality - policy

Results of all waste surveys are published in accordance with the SURS confidentiality principles in aggregate form in absolute numbers and various indicators (e.g. amount per capita, share of deposited waste in relation to the generated waste, etc.).

The National Statistics Act (ZDSta) stipulates within fundamental principles of national statistics in Article 2 that “national statistics shall be implemented on the principles of … confidentiality …”. More information regarding Statistical confidentiality is available on the SURS website  https://www.stat.si/statweb/en/FundamentalPrinciples/StatConf

11.2. Confidentiality - data treatment

See chapter 11.1.


12. Comment Top

Determination of waste generation in the economy on the basis of information in waste collection

Data on generation of end-of-life vehicles (ELV) (EWC-Stat. 08.120 and 08.121) were prepared on the basis of ODP-nastajanje survey.

The problem was allocating ELV by the NACE Rev. 2 activity. In Slovenia, quite a few of ELV was reported as NACE Rev. 2 code 38, because the record sheet on ELV was issued for waste collectors/waste processors and not for primary waste generators.  

On the basis of Eurostat's recommendations (meeting of the Working group on waste statistics, 12 March 2018) all amounts of ELV, whose origin are unknown, must be reported under activities G-S (except 46.77).

Data on the amounts of municipal waste generated in production and service activities (A-S, NACE Rev. 2) collected within public waste collection scheme were obtained from Waste Collection survey (ODP-zbiranje survey). Public services for municipal waste collection in Slovenia are also responsible for collecting municipal waste from production and service activities. Specific waste collectors are also collecting municipal waste in Slovenia, but these amounts are not problematic because the activity of their origin (NACE Rev. 2) is known. Reporting units that exercise public services estimate the share of municipal waste collected from households and from production and service activities (mainly from service activities) within the ODP-zbiranje survey. Based on data obtained from ODP-zbiranje survey and ODP-obdelava survey SURS allocated amounts of municipal waste collected within public waste removal scheme (without record sheet) to proper NACE Rev. 2 activity.

 

Specific issues - wet matter for sludges

Although the data on sludges are requested to be reported only in dry matter since the 2008 data collection, please indicate in the table below the amounts of waste generated for the NACE total in tons of wet matter. This will be important to review the conversion factors that have been used to impute missing data in the past.

The table below indicates the amounts of waste (sludges) generated for the NACE total in tons of wet matter. The whole process of conversion sludges from wet to dry matter is already presented in chapter Determination of waste generation in the economy on the basis of other methods.

 

Total amounts of sludges in tons of wet matter, Slovenia, 2020

03.2

Industrial effluent sludges

NH

W

already reported in dry matter

03.2

Industrial effluent sludges

HH

W

11 (excl. 11.3)

Common sludges (excl. dredging spoils)

NH

W

179,332

11.3

Dredging spoils

HH

W

/

 

It is possible that some reporting units may have already reported their amounts of sludges in dry matter, therefore it would not be necessary for us to convert them from wet to dry matter.

In the data analysis regarding 03.2 Industrial effluent sludges, SURS discovered that the biggest industrial generators of these sludges had already reported them in dry matter. Also 11 Common sludges from households are already reported in dry matter.

 


Related metadata Top


Annexes Top