1.1. Contact organisation
STATISTICAL SERVICE OF CYPRUS
1.2. Contact organisation unit
ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS UNIT
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Michael Karaolis Street, CY-1444 Nicosia, Cyprus
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
28 June 2024
2.2. Metadata last posted
28 June 2024
2.3. Metadata last update
28 June 2024
3.1. Data description
See sub sections.
3.1.1. Description of the parties involved in the data collection
Table : Institutions involved in the collection of data and distribution of tasks
| Name of institution | Description of key responsibilities |
| Statistical Service of Cyprus | The Statistical Service of Cyprus is the sole institution responsible for the collection and production of statistical data in accordance to the Waste Statistics Regulation. As far as overall waste management policy is concerned, responsibilities lie with the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment. These include the implementation of the legislation regarding the licensing for the treatment of packaging and hazardous waste and for the reporting of data on packaging and packaging waste, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and waste oils, the Landfill Directive, municipal waste, and non-hazardous construction and demolition waste. In addition, the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services of the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and Works is the competent authority for the reporting of data on end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). For the 2022 data collection, a survey was carried out for a random sample of enterprises in NACE sectors B-E. For the services sectors a small targeted sample was selected and furthermore information from collective systems and waste treatment facilities were used. For NACE A, estimations are made using animal and crop production data to indirectly calculate waste quantities and data from other sources, such as treatment plants. For NACE F, information from collective systems and waste treatment facilities for construction and demolition waste were used. Specially designed questionnaires were completed, under the guidance of specifically employed and trained interviewers. The information derived from the survey was supplemented with administrative information. Enterprises were also asked on whether they operated any treatment facility themselves. Even though national legislation demands for authorization of enterprises that process waste, it cannot be argued that this is universally applied. Since the Waste Statistics Regulation refers only to enterprises that are authorized to regenerate different substances, the Department of Environment was asked to provide us with a full list of the facilities that actually owned a licence for the treatment of waste, in order to cross-check our results regarding treatment facilities. It emerged, however, that for various reasons the Department of Environment had not updated the licences for several facilities but nevertheless the latter continued to operate. Waste generated by households was calculated using data from municipalities and from the waste treatment plants. The term “municipal waste” refers to waste from households and other similar wastes collected by municipalities from industries, offices, shops, restaurants etc. Finally, the Department of Environment was consulted on the number of disposal sites in operation. |
3.1.2. Description of methods determining waste generation
General description of methodology
Data set 1: Waste generation by waste category (EWC-STAT) and economic activities (NACE)
Data on waste generation were produced by appropriately combining the results of a sample survey with extensive data obtained from waste collectors and waste treatment plants.
Reporting units were classified by economic activity on the basis of the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2, as established by Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Waste types and recovery and treatment operations were classified in accordance with the Waste Statistics Regulation.
Determination of waste generation by sample survey
A specially designed questionnaire was drawn up which encompassed all requirements of the Waste Statistics Regulation. The questionnaire required respondents to report the quantities of waste generated by waste stream and the type of treatment (incl. waste collection by municipal authorities) for each waste stream. A letter was dispatched to all units sampled, laying down the scope of the survey and informing them that an interviewer will soon contact them in order to arrange for a meeting with them for the completion of the questionnaire. Note that this practice of holding personal interviews for the collection of statistical data is a long-standing tradition for the majority of business surveys in Cyprus and has proved to yield very high response rates.
Questionnaires were carefully completed by personal interview at the enterprises´ premises, under the guidance of experienced and suitably trained staff who had been specifically employed for the needs of this survey. The interviewers reported to the central office every week, handing in the completed questionnaires. Completed questionnaires were thoroughly checked and data entry, validation and consistency checks followed, using a Microsoft Access based system specially designed for the needs of the survey. The data processing was done using Microsoft Excel.
The statistical business register formed the frame for selecting the enterprises to be surveyed. The kind-of-activity unit (KAU) was the statistical unit used. The enterprises to be contacted were selected in a purposeful way on the basis of their economic activity and size class.
Determination of waste generation on the basis of information on waste treatment
For reference year 2022, data on waste generation are based both on information obtained from a dedicated survey as well as on information from waste treatment facilities. This was even more accurate for hazardous waste.
Determination of waste generation on the basis of information on waste collection
For reference year 2022, data on waste collection was mainly used for cross checking and tracking movements of waste quantities. Municipal waste collection was only used for the determination of waste generated by the waste source “households”.
Determination of waste generation on the basis of administrative sources
Household waste is not directly detectable since municipal waste contains an unidentifiable amount of waste not generated by households. Past experience has revealed that household waste constitutes around 70% of municipal waste.
Municipal waste includes household and similar waste as well as waste originating from commerce, trade, limited agricultural and similar activities, small businesses, office buildings and institutions (schools, hospitals and government buildings). It also includes bulky waste and yard waste, leaves, grass clippings, street sweepings, the contents of litter containers and market cleansing waste,if managed as waste. Municipal waste is collected door-to-door through traditional collection (mixed household waste) and fractions collected separately for recovery operations (mainly for recycling purposes, through door-to-door collection and/or through voluntary deposits). It also includes waste similar in nature and composition which (a) is collected directly from the private sector (business or private non-profit institutions), not on behalf of municipalities (mainly separate collection for recoverypurposes) and (b) originates from rural areas not served by a regular waste service, even if they are disposed by the generator. It excludes waste from municipal sewage network and treatment and municipal construction and demolition waste. The inclusion of the above figures provide us with 100% coverage, since all dwellings in Cyprus have their waste amounts collected by one or the other of these two forms of waste collection.
Data for municipal waste was directly collected from waste management facilities that had the capacity of recording on a daily basis the amount and origin of the waste they were treating. In particular, these data were made available as from 2006 for the sanitary landfill site servicing the district of Pafos and from mid-2010 for the residuals sanitary landfill site servicing the districts of Larnaka and Ammochostos. In late 2017, a third waste management facility started its operations servicing the Lemesos district. It is worth noting that towards the end of 2018 the uncontrolled landfill site servicing the Lefkosia district was closed down and the district’s municipal waste is now directed to the waste treatment facility in Larnaka.
| Waste item | Source | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | _..._ | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | |
| 1 | see below | |||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||
| _..._ | ||||||||||
| 49 | ||||||||||
| 50 | ||||||||||
| 51 | ||||||||||
The sources are the businesses (18 NACE groupings) and households which generate waste. The waste types are the 51 waste categories for which data is required under the Waste Statistics Regulation.
Annexes:
Table: Description of methods determining waste generation-
3.1.3. Estimation of waste generation in the economy on the basis of a sample survey
Determination of waste generation by (sample) survey
| Description of the sample survey | Item 1 (NACE A) |
Item 2 (NACE B) |
… | Item 18 (NACE 46.77) |
Total | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | … | n | 1 | 2 | … | n | … | 1 | 2 | … | n | |||
| 1 | Number of statistical units per stratum and item in accordance with the available register(s) | not applicable … … … |
|||||||||||||
| 2 | Number of statistical units selected for a sample survey and questionnaires sent out | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Number of non-respoinses (no replies provided; replies are unusable; units are not identifiable) | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Part of 3: Quantity of data registered incorrectly (statistical units which do not exist, statistical units which cannot be identified) | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Number of units (statistical units) used to calculate totals | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | Factor for weighting | ||||||||||||||
Annexes:
Determination of waste generation by sample survey
3.1.4. Estimation of waste generation in the economy on the basis of information on waste treatment
| Description of the method | |||||||
| 1 | Scope of indirect determination (waste types and economic sectors covered) | All waste types for NACE A, NACE F | |||||
| 2 | Number of waste treatment facilities selected by items: | INC R1 | INC D10 | RECYC | BACK | DISPO I | DISPO II |
| 1 | 0 | 29 | n.a | 11 | |||
| 3 | Method(s) applied for differentiation by waste sources: | For NACE A,estimations are made using animal and crop production data to indirectly calculate waste quantities and data from other sources, such as treatment plants. For NACE F, information from collective systems and waste treatment facilities for construction and demolition waste were used. | |||||
| 4 | Restriction of the applied methods: | not applicable | |||||
| 4.1 | Waste streams not covered: | not applicable | |||||
| 4.2 | Problems of source attachment: | not applicable | |||||
| 4.3 | Other problems: | not applicable | |||||
This table shows the proportion of waste generation covered by indirect calculation on the basis of waste treatment and how the method is applied.
Row 1 indicates what proportion of waste generation is covered by information concerning waste treatment. This can be done by referring to selected parts of the economy or to selected waste streams. This should be consistent with the table in the concept 3.1.2.
Row 2 identifies the number of waste treatment facilities included in the calculation. The numbers are expected to be equal to the number of facilities in the table in the concept 3.1.8 . Any differences should be explained.
Rows 3 to 4.3 provide a more detailed description of the methods applied. Does the original data set contain quantities of waste classified by the List of waste, by the European waste Classification for Statistics (EWC-Stat) or by a national classification? On what basis is waste which has been treated transformed into waste which has been generated? How are non-specific wastes distributed across sources and how are imported wastes excluded?
3.1.5. Description of the estimation of waste generation in the economy on the basis of administrative sources
Estimation of waste generation in the economy on the basis of models or other methods
| Description of the models | ||
| 1 | Scope of the model (waste types and economic sectors covered) | not applicable |
| 2 | Basic data for the estimations (production figures etc.) | not applicable |
| 3 | Description of the model and the factors applied | not applicable |
| 4 | Routines applied or foreseen to guarantee sufficient quality (periodical revision of factors, focused surveys for verification etc.) | not applicable |
| Description of the information sources | ||
| 5 | Scope for the OTHER information sources (waste types and economic sectors covered) | not applicable |
| 6 | Description of the other information source which is not fitting to the type of information sources mentioned above | not applicable |
This table is similar to the table in the concept 3.1.4 in that it shows the proportion of waste generation covered by other methods and how these methods are applied. Within this table, a distinction is made between methods based on modelling and other methods.
3.1.6. Determination methods for waste generated by households
| 1 | Indirect determination via waste collection | |
| 1.1 | Description of reporting unit applied (waste collections, municipalities) | The input in treatment plants is used by EWC waste code. |
| 1.2 | Description of the reporting system (regular survey on waste collection, utilisation of administrative sources) | Data from administrative sources, data from treatment plants and separate collection data are used. |
| 1.3 | Waste types covered | All waste codes under Chapter 20. |
| 1.4 | Survey characteristics (1.4a – 1.4d) | not applicable |
| a) Total no. of collectors / municipalities (population size) | not applicable | |
| b) No of collectors / municipalities selected for survey | not applicable | |
| c) No of responses used for the calculation of the totals | not applicable | |
| d) Factor for weighting | not applicable | |
| 1.5 | Method applied for the differentiation between the sources household and commercial activities | For packaging waste the Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment is the competent authority for reporting to the packaging and packaging waste Directive, including for the quantities recycled and the recycling and recovery targets achieved. The data reported by the Department of Environment are also used in municipal waste statistics. The distinction between sources of packaging waste is obtained in cooperation with the waste management facilities responsible for collecting household and commercial/industrial waste. All packaging waste is being covered. Moreover, the Statistical Service takes into account all paper, not only packaging. For mixed municipal waste we use estimations from the municipal authorities. |
| 1.6 | Percentage of waste from commercial activities by waste types | Around 30%-35% according to information/estimations from municipal authorities |
| 2 | Indirect determination via waste treatment | |
| 2.1 | Specification of waste treatment facilities selected | not applicable |
| 2.2 | Waste types covered | not applicable |
| 2.3 | Method applied for the differentiation between the sources household and commercial activities | not applicable |
| 2.4 | Percentage of waste from commercial activities by waste types | not applicable |
This table focuses on the methods applied in order to estimate the amount of waste generated by households. The various methods are identified in different parts of the table. An important distinction is made between waste generated by households, on the one hand, and waste generated by businesses, i.e. ‘commercial contamination’, on the other.
Determination of waste generated by households
As from the year 2002 and up until 2018, the Statistical Service was carrying out a bi-annual survey in order to produce data on the amounts of municipal solid waste collected, as well as their distribution by type and by origin. The survey was addressing a questionnaire to all municipal authorities in the country, which are responsible for the collection and treatment of the municipal waste generated. As already outlined, this amount included waste collected from households, as well as waste collected from businesses (agricultural, industrial, commercial and other services activities). In 2018 only municipalities in the Lefkosia district were covered in this manner. The information on municipal waste generated in all other districts was obtained directly from the waste treatment facilities.
In addition, the sample survey carried out in order to produce the data required by the Waste Statistics Regulation requests respondents to report the quantities of waste generated by waste stream and the type of treatment (incl. waste collection by municipal authorities) for each waste stream. Hence, the quantity of waste generated by businesses and collected by the municipal authorities can be determined.
Combining the two surveys and the administrative data obtained from the waste treatment plants, we can subtract the amount of waste generated by businesses and collected by the municipal authorities from the total amount of municipal waste collected by the municipal authorities in order to arrive to an estimate for the quantity of household waste.
3.1.7. Description of data sources and methods by treatment category
Determination of treated waste quantities
| Item 1 Incineration (R1) |
Data are collected by treatment plants. Cross checks of the quantities with enterprises producing the wate and are included in the sample. In case of imports, Basel data and International trade daea are also checked. |
| Item 2 Incineration (D10) |
Not applicable. |
| Item 3a Recycling (R2 – R11) |
Data are collected by treatment plants and collective systems. |
| Item 3b Backfilling |
Data are collected from collecttive systems for C&D waste and from enterprises in NACE through survey. |
| Item 4 Landfilling (D1, D5, D12) |
Data are collected from treatment plants. |
| Item 5 Other disposal (D2,D3,D4, D6,D7) |
Not applicable. |
Data sets 2 and 3: Waste treatment
General description of the methodology used
Cyprus has still some work to do in order to implement fully what is foreseen in national legislation, which requires that all treatment facilities for incineration, recovery or disposal purposes obtain an appropriate licence from the competent authorities.The registers kept have proved to be deficient since the provisions of the legislation are not properly implemented. Therefore, the Statistical Service continues to collect data directly from the enterprises in order to cross check the quality of the data.
Nevertheless, over the last years a considerable improvement in data availability on waste treatment from administrative sources has been observed which has greatly facilitated the production of statistics. Detailed administrative records were made available from treatment facilities, at least for particular waste streams. However, despite this big step forward, deficiencies were discovered that required thorough investigation on our side and consultation, both with the Department of Environment and the treatment facilities themselves. These deficiencies are expected to diminish with time.
The survey, that served as a tool for determining waste generation in businesses and the type of treatment for each waste stream (data sets 1 and 2) also required respondents to report whether they operate any treatment facility themselves, if they own a licence for the treatment of waste, the capacity of this facility and the amount of waste they collect for treatment (data set 3). This information was then used in order to double check and verify the information obtained from the Department of Environment, which would indicate which enterprises are actually licensed for treating waste, as well as to validate the information obtained from sources such as statistics on exports, the Basel Convention etc. Note that the data reported in data set 3 captures only those facilities that have a valid licence for the treatment of waste, as required by the Waste Statistics Regulation.
Cyprus, like other small Member States, has limited recycling capacities. Hence, recycling enterprises (NACE Rev. 2 division 38), depending on the material, do not actually proceed to recycle themselves but, instead, after pre-treatment of the recyclable materials, export these quantities in a compressed or shredded form. This kind of treatment refers to materials like paper, plastic and metal, whose treatment could not be regarded as a preparatory operation, but rather as reprocessing, in the sense that waste is prepared for subsequent use. Up until the 2014 data collection, Cyprus considered reprocessing as part of the operations that should be recorded and thus the statistics covered the amounts exported for recycling. As of 2016, Cyprus adopted Eurostat’s recommendation that all exports should be excluded. However, there exist also considerably large imports of waste, mainly for energy recovery in a co-incineration plant of an enterprise producing cement.
3.1.8. 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) |
1 | 0 | not applicable |
| Item 2 Incineration (D10) |
not applicable | 1 | The incineration plant operated on a trial phase in 2022 with a temporary licence from the Department of Environment. |
| Item 3a Recycling (R2 – R11) |
29 | 0 | There is also a number of facilities for pre-treatment R12/R13. |
| Item 3b Backfilling |
not applicable | not applicable | not applicable |
| Item 4 Landfilling (D1, D5, D12) |
11 (2 MBT, 1 Landfill, 8 inert waste landfills) | 0 | not applicable |
| Item 5 Other disposal (D2,D3,D4, D6,D7) |
not applicable | not applicable | not applicable |
This table identifies the number of waste treatment facilities, which are included in or excluded from the compilation of data. There can be several reasons for excluding waste treatment operations: because they treat only internal waste, because they are pre-treatment facilities or because the capacity is below a nationally defined threshold, etc.
3.1.9. Registers used for identification of treatment operations
| Identification of register(s) used (name; responsible institution) | Description of register(s) (coverage: frequency and procedure of updating, etc.) |
| Enterprise Register (based on permits according toArticles 9 and 10 of the Waste FrameworkDirective) | Licences for the treatment of waste are granted by the Departmentof Environment. This register was used in order to double check the completeness in coverage of the results obtained from the survey carried out by the Statistical Service. It includes information on name of owner, type of treatment, period of validity of the licence, but not capacity. |
| Landfill sites Register | The register of landfill sites is kept by the Department of Environment. |
| Statistical Business Register | The statistical business register was used for the identification of selected treatment operations, namely those under NACE Rev. 2 divisions 37 and 38. It was also used for drawing up a list of addresses for the purposeful survey. |
This table gives details of the registers used to gather information on waste treatment.
3.2. Classification system
For economic activities NACE Rev. 2 is used.
For waste types, the European Waste Catalogue is used. Administrative sources provide data according to the List of Waste(LoW) codes. Enterprises that may don't know the LoW, give a description of their waste and then the allocation is made to waste types. Waste treatment facilities provide information about recovery (R) and disposal (D) treatment codes.
3.2.1. Description of classification used
| Name of classifications used | Description of the classification(s) | |
| Economic activities | NACE Rev. 2 | Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Union that is linked directly with WStatR requirements as defined in ANNEX I. |
| Waste types | European Waste Catalogue, | The European List of Wastes (LoW) is the waste classification in the EU for administrative purposes, i.e. for permitting and supervision in the field of waste generation and management. EWC codes are matched with EWC-Stat codes with correspondance table. |
| Recovery and treatment operations | Recovery and treatment operations are used as defined in ANNEX II of the Waste Statistics Regulation. | WFD |
3.3. Coverage - sector
Waste generation and waste treatment data (set 1 & set 2) have complete coverage. The data refer to all waste generated in the country, covering all economic activities and households, as well as all waste treated nationally.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
Statistical concepts and definitions used are based on the thorough implementation of the provisions of the Waste Statistics Regulation and the guidelines being given by Eurostat.
3.5. Statistical unit
The statistical unit is the enterprise or the treatment facility.
3.6. Statistical population
Waste generation data refers to waste generated on the national territory (Government controlled area of Cyprus).
Waste treatment data covers all waste treated on the national territory (Government controlled area of Cyprus).
3.7. Reference area
Data cover the Government controlled area of Cyprus.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Data have been produced biennially since 2004.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Data are reported in tonnes of normal wet waste; for sludge (Stat-EWC 3.2, 3.3,11, 12.7), the dry matter in tonnes is reported.
The reference period is 2022.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Data on the generation and treatment of waste are collected on the basis of the Regulation on waste statistics (EC) No. 2150/2002, amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No. 849/2010.
The Waste Statistics Regulation was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on 25 November 2002 and revised in 2010. Since 2002, several implementation measures have been adopted:
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 574/2004 of 23 February 2004 amending Annexes I and III to Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 on waste statistics (OJ L 90, 27.3.2004, p.15);
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 782/2005 of 24 May 2005 setting out the format for the transmission of results on waste statistics (OJ L 131, 25.5.2005, p. 26);
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 783/2005 of 24 May 2005 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 on waste statistics (OJ L 131, 25.5.2005, p. 38);
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 1445/2005 of 5 September 2005 defining the proper quality evaluation criteria and the contents of the quality reports for waste statistics for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 229, 6.9.2005, p. 6);
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 849/2010 of 27 September 2010 amending Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste statistics (OJ L 253, 28.9.2010, p 2-41).
The Regulation consists of a general part and three Annexes. The Annexes deal with the generation of waste (Annex I), the treatment of waste (Annex II) and the waste classification (Annex III) which should be used for observation and registration. The Regulation starts with the usual “whereas” phrases, giving the reasons and considerations which motivated and led to the creation of the Waste Statistics Regulation in the form in which it was adopted.
Moreover, at national level the Official Statistics Law of 2021 (Law No. 25(I)/2021) provides the legal basis for the development, production and dissemination of official statistics in Cyprus.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Official statistics are released in accordance with the confidentiality provisions laid down in the following:
- Official Statistics Law of 2021 (Law No. 25(I)/2021) (especially Article 16 on statistical confidentiality).
- Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on Europeanstatistics and its later amendments (especially Chapter 5 on statistical confidentiality).
- European Statistics Code of Practice (especially Principle 5 on statistical confidentiality).
- CYSTAT's Guidelines for the Protection of Confidential Data.
Under the provisions of the Official Statistics Law, all the information collected is treated as confidential and is used solely for statistical purposes. No data for any individual enterprise is published or disclosed to either public bodies or private individuals.
Annexes:
Confidentiality Policy
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
No data is considered confidential at the level published.
The treatment of confidential data is regulated by CYSTAT's Guidelines for the Protection of Confidential Data.
8.1. Release calendar
Data for Waste Statistics collected based on the Regulation, are published on the national website on a biennial basis. They are included in the Statistical Abstract.
National data are are also published by Eurostat on its database on a biennial basis.
8.2. Release calendar access
The release calendar for the current year is available on the web portal of the Statistical Service. Release dates are confirmed on the week before dissemination.
8.3. Release policy - user access
Not applicable.
The results are envisaged to be disseminated nationally in December 2024 via the web portal of the Statistical Service.
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
There are no releases on the national website.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Data are scheduled to be published in the forthcoming edition of the statistical yearbook entitled “Statistical Abstract”, due to be released by the end of the year.
Furthermore, the results have been transmitted to Eurostat accompanied with this data quality report, in accordance with the provisions of the Waste Statistics Regulation.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database
It is planned to upload the data on the national online database in December 2024.
Data are available also on Eurostat's database.
10.3.1. Data tables - consultations
Not available.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Not applicable.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Not applicable.
10.5.1. Metadata - consultations
Not applicable.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Eurostats's methodological guidelines are used.
10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate
Not applicable.
10.7. Quality management - documentation
See Article 11 of the Official Statistics Law of 2021 (Law No. 25(I)/2021) which is linked at concept 11.
See Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics which is linked at concept 11.
11.1. Quality assurance
The quality of statistics in CYSTAT is managed in the framework of the European Statistics Code of Practice which sets the standards for developing, producing and disseminating European Statistics as well as the ESS Quality Assurance Framework (QAF). CYSTAT endorses the Quality Declaration of the European Statistical System. In addition, CYSTAT is guided by the requirements provided for in Article 11 of the Official Statistics Law No. 25(I) of 2021 as well as Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics, which sets out the quality criteria to be applied in the development, production and dissemination of European statistics.
Moreover, CYSTAT follows the guidelines provided in Eurostats' for Waste Statistics manual which sets standardsfor the compilation of the data.
Annexes:
Quality Assurance
11.2. Quality management - assessment
The quality of statistics is assessed according to five quality criteria: relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality,accessibility and clarity, coherence and comparability. CYSTAT endorses the Quality Declaration of the European Statistical System. In addition, CYSTAT is guided by the requirements provided in Article 11 of the Official Statistics Law of 2021 (Law No. 25(I)/2021) as well as Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics, which sets out the quality criteria to be applied in the development, production and dissemination of European statistics.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
In a country like Cyprus, where natural resources are scarce and pressures and strains are intense on the country’s natural fabric, environment is a subject of great concern and interest. The response, in the form of environmental protection measures, has been substantial in the last few decades. In assessing the state of the environment and formulating, managing and monitoring the outcome of these policy measures, statistics has a vital role to play by providing relevant, reliable, timely and comparative quantitative information to support these tasks. Waste statistics, as a component of environment statistics, concerns not only politicians, but the ordinary citizen as well.
- Government Agencies – Local level. The Department of Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment is the main competent authority handling waste management policies, as laid down by EU legislation and adopted by the national one. In this framework, waste statistics prove useful to these agencies in formulating, managing and monitoring the outcome of policy measures on the country’s waste management system.
- Politicians – Local level. Cyprus has adopted a number of legal acts that were set out in recent years by the European Union. However, the proper implementation of the relevant legislation is somewhat lacking and this is reflected in the statistics produced. In other words, even though the proper legislation is in place, the required means in order for this legislation to be implemented are very often insufficient. Waste statistics can highlight the gap between the wishful and the actual figures, providing an incentive for further development of the whole waste management system. Furthermore, waste statistics could provide the means for politicians to promote social awareness regarding the different environmental issues.
- European Union – Regional level. According to the Europe 2020 Strategy, the European Union has set the goal of becoming a smarter, knowledge based, greener economy, growing fast and sustainably, creating high levels of employment and social progress. In this framework, waste statistics are part of the indicators chosen by the European Union to regularly assess the progress achieved in implementing its policies.The recycling rate of selected materials and the generation of hazardous waste are some of these indicators. Furthermore, waste statistics can be used as a tool towards establishing cohesion, harmonization and comparability among the Member States. In thatway, not only politicians, but the EU citizens as well, will be able to draw important conclusions regarding the state of the environment in each Member State.
- Citizens from the Member States – Regional level. The usefulness of waste statistics can go beyond their political importance. Waste generation and treatment can serve as a measure of welfare, social conditions, consumer habits etc. The amounts of waste generated serve as an index of industrial production,whereas, the waste treatment can be an index of both the government’s and the citizen’s social responsibility.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Not applicable.
12.3. Completeness
See sub sections.
12.3.1. Data completeness - rate
Waste generation and waste treatment data (set 1 & set 2) have complete coverage. The data refer to all waste generated in the country, covering all economic activities and households, as well as all waste treated nationally.
12.3.2. Description of missing data in the waste generation dataset
| Description of missing data in data set 1 on waste generation (waste category, economic activity, ..) |
Explanation | How to overcome the deficit |
| not applicable | not applicable | not applicable |
No missing data.
12.3.3. Description of missing data in datasets on treated waste and quantities and capacities of facilities
Information is missing about the capacity of disposal sites for inert waste for most of the landfills, as well as the number of backfilling sites. No information is available about the number of backfilling sites. It is very difficult to monitor exactly how many such sites exist. They are not constant and are not the same over time, since they vary according to the building projects running in the year and the restoration of mines and quarries.
The capacity of landfills for inert waste was not reported due to the lack of data. No volumetric measurements were made by the enterprises.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Cyprus has still some work to do in order to implement fully what is foreseen in national legislation, which requires that all treatment facilities for incineration, recovery, or disposal purposes obtain an appropriate licence from the competent authorities.The registers kept have proved to be deficient since the provisions of the legislation are not properly implemented. Therefore, the Statistical Service continues to collect data directly from the enterprises in order to cross-check the quality of the data. Over the last years, a considerable improvement in data availability on waste treatment from administrative sources has been observed which has greatly facilitated the production of statistics. Detailed administrative records were made available from treatmentfacilities, at least for particular waste streams. However, despite this big step forward, deficiencies were discovered that required thorough investigation on our side and consultation, both with the Department of Environment and the treatment facilities themselves. These deficiencies are expected to diminish with time.
13.2. Sampling error
Coefficients of variation for the total amount of waste generated and the total amount of waste treated cannot be calculated since these aggregates no longer result exclusively from the sample survey but are to a large extent also based on administrative data.
13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
The table “Totals and coefficients of variation for the key aggregates” does not apply to Cyprus.
13.3.1. Coverage error
As far as treatment operations are concerned, we have gathered the information for both licensed and non-licensed treatment facilities. In the case of landfill sites, only those that are still active have been accounted for.
Determination of extractive waste generation
The main mining activities in Cyprus relate to the quarrying of building stone, marble, gypsum, sand, gravel, havara, bentonite,clay, umber and other ochres (NACE Rev. 2 classes 08.11, 08.12 and 08.91). Moreover, the enterprise that operated the single active copper mine in Cyprus was allocated in NACE Rev. 2 class 24.44. The enterprise closed by the end of 2020.
Topsoil, overburden and waste-rock are partially covered in the data. As a general practice, if the wastes are removed from the extraction site and used for backfilling then they are reported, whereas if they are used inside the extraction site they are not reported as waste. As far as the non-hazardous tailings are concerned, these are generally excluded since they are used inside the extraction site.
The Mining Wastes Directive was transposed into national legislation in 2009. The Department of Environment, which is the competent authority for the management of waste from extractive industries, carried out a study about the status of extractive waste sites. An inventory has been prepared with all active and closed sites. According to this inventory, 31 active sites of extractive waste and 76 closed sites of extractive waste exist.
13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion
Not applicable.
13.3.1.3. Comparison of the number of units in the Register of Business and the number of units included in the calculation of the amount of waste generated
| NACE | A | B | C10-C12 | C13-C15 | C16 | C17_C18 | C19 | C23 | C24_C25 | C26-C30 | C31-C33 | D | E36_E37_E39 | E38 | F | G-U_X_G4677 | G4677 | TOTAL excluding HH |
| number of units in the Business Register | n.a | 44 | 954 | 281 | 765 | 295 | 3 | 298 | 1178 | 194 | 884 | 103 | 76 | 181 | n.a | 100759 | 12 | n.a |
| number of units included in the calculation of the amount of waste generated* | n.a | 22 | 204 | 22 | 44 | 45 | 3 | 69 | 119 | 47 | 61 | 3 | 12 | 44 | n.a | 125 | 6 | 896 |
* for the needs of the GENER dataset (occurring in the administrative system / participating in the statistical survey)
Data for NACE A, NACE F are calculated using other methods, Also data for Services, NACE B and NACE 38 are calculated with both sampling and other sources.
13.3.1.4. Coverage of waste statistics with regard to extractive waste
| Coverage | Topsoil | Overburden | Waste-rock | Tailings (non-haz.) |
| Completely covered | ||||
| Partially covered | x | x | x | |
| Generally excluded | x |
13.3.1.5. Description of issues related to the allocation of mining waste to NACE section B or C
See comments in 13.3.1.
13.3.1.6. Coverage of waste treatment facilities and criteria for exclusion
See table in the concept 3.1.8.
13.3.2. Measurement error
The quantities are quite precise, since most of the municipalities actually weigh the waste they collect, whereas enterprises estimate the quantities of waste they produce based on their production. Moreover, waste treatment facilities weigh the quantities received and treated. Data are reported in tonnes. Possible mistakes that could arise in transferring the data from the questionnaires to the database were handled through thorough consistency and validation checks.
13.3.3. Non response error
Data collection in Cyprus is governed by the Official Statistics Law of 2021, which renders the provision of data to the Statistical Service mandatory for all respondents. Furthermore, it is a tradition in Cyprus for data collection to be carried out by personal interview, under the guidance of specially employed and trained interviewers, which assist the enterprises in comprehending what is required of them, so that the data obtained is as reliable as possible.
13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate
Not applicable.
13.3.4. Processing error
Data collection was followed by a thorough check of the questionnaires and of the detailed data reported by the waste treatment facilities regarding unexpected waste types produced, the quantities produced, the correct allocation among waste categories, the correct R/D code assignment, as well as the validity of licences owned by the treatment facilities. As a next step we proceeded to the data entry, validation and consistency checks, where once again we have checked for possible errors in the NACE classification, the entry of quantities and the R/D coding. The process of verification and the final extraction of the tables was done using Microsoft Excel. The process included recoding and some statistical checks, like the detection and handling of possible extreme values. Based on the above checks, different corrections had been made in order to ensure the robustness of thedata.
No problems were encountered regarding regional codes, since we are providing data for Cyprus as a single territory. The whole country is designated as one region at the NUTS I, II and III levels.
No problems were also faced regarding misclassification of household waste, since we have a clear view of what should be included in household waste.
13.3.5. Model assumption error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
Data transmission to Eurostat was performed within the time period set by the Waste Statistics Regulation.
14.1.1. Time lag - first result
Time schedule of the whole process:
- Development of sampling strategy: JAN-MAR 2023.
- Development and testing of questionnaires: APR- MAY 2024.
- Selection of enterprises and sending out of questionnaires: JUN-OCT 2023.
- Data processing (editing and imputation): JUL 2023-MAY 2024.
- Data analysis and validation: MAY 2024-JUNE 2024.
- Key publication activities: DEC 2024.
14.1.2. Time lag - final result
Not applicable.
14.2. Punctuality
Data for the reference year 2022 were transmitted via EDAMIS on the 28th of June 2024.
14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Data for the reference year 2022 were transmitted via EDAMIS on the 28th of June 2024 and are planned to be published in December 2024 on the national website.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Data have been collected based on the methodological guidelines provided by Eurostat through the Waste Statistics Regulation, the waste statistics manual and the discussions that took place in the relevant working groups and workshops. Based on the experience of the previous surveys and in order to set the right base for future surveys and to maintain quality and comparability, a country specific methodological guidebook was produced for use by the interviewers, providing them with useful informationwhich would assist them during the interview.
The quality of the data reported improves with each round of survey as the reporting of certain waste streams in done on a more standardised and consistent manner and access to administrative records is enhanced.
It is worth mentioning that for those economic activities and waste streams where significant differences can be observed between the values reported for 2022 and those reported for 2020, data have been verified and the reasons behind these differences are appropriately explained.
15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient
Not applicable.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Restricted from publication
15.2.1. Length of comparable time series
Data are fully comparable from 2012 to 2020.
However, due to the Eurostat's latest recommendations about reporting sludges, liquid wastes and non-hazardous agriculture wastes, trend breaks are observed for these categories in 2022.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
The data produced maintain absolute coherence with the municipal waste data produced, since these had been used to extract household waste quantities.
The coherence of these data sets with specific waste reporting obligations (used oils, batteries, end of life vehicles, tyres) is high.
15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics
The Statistical Service compiles data according to the provisions of the Waste Statistics Regulation biennially.
15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts
Not applicable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Data are coherent as the total equals the sum of the breakdowns. However, generation data is not the same as treatment data, nor the total or per waste stream category, mainly due to storage of waste and exports and imports of waste
See 16.1.
16.1. Burden on respondents
| Survey / Source | Type and total number of respondents | Actual no. of respondents | Time required for response | Measures taken to minimise the burden |
Well-trained interviewers had been employed, who could fully understand definitions and classifications. They also had the knowledge in advance regarding the expected waste types that an enterprise of a specific economic activity will most likely produce. This enabled them to have very specific questions, and hence, not imposing further burden to the enterprises. Despite ourgreat efforts though, multiple problems have been encountered, since many enterprises do not keep records regarding the information that the Regulation requests and are not aware of the European Waste Classification. This imposed a time burden to the respondents. Another problem that was encountered is that the number of business surveys has greatly increased over recent years and in a small country like Cyprus, the burden on enterprises is disproportionately high.
17.1. Data revision - policy
There is a formal revision policy at Cystat. Cystat publishes its Revision Policy on its website, describing the generalrules and principles governing the procedure of revising data published by Cystat.
The policy is based on the guidelines of the European Statistical System (ESS) also taking into account the Quality Assurance Framework of the ESS and the European Statistics Code of Practice.
Annexes:
Revision policy
17.2. Data revision - practice
Data if necessary is revised every two years when the data for the most recent reference year are transmitted.
17.2.1. Data revision - average size
No data revisions are made for this repoting year.
18.1. Source data
See the concept 3.1.1 above.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Data are collected biennially by the Statistical Service of Cyprus. Data for municipal waste is collected annually.
18.3. Data collection
See below.
18.3.1. Description of methods of data collection on capacity of treatment facilities (Dataset FAC: facilities of treatment of waste)
In order to identify the enterprises that operate treatment facilities, we used not only what was reported in the survey carried out by the Statistical Service, but also the register kept by the Department of Environment, which lists all enterprises that are licensed to treat waste. In addition, the register of all landfill sites was utilised. Over the years, of course, the Statistical Service has also developed its own list of treatment facilities.
In Cyprus, three landfill sites (2 MBT-D5, 1 Ladfill-D1) were operating in 2022. The largest one services the districts of Lefkosia, Larnaka andAmmochostos, the second one the district of Lemesos and the third one the Pafos district. The uncontrolled landfill site previously servicing the Lefkosia district was closed down at the end of 2018. Moreover, there are 11 landfills for inert waste.
The reported value of 48,404 m3 in data set 3 refers to the remaining capacity of the three landfill sites that comply with the Landfill Directive and the capacity of one inert landfill.
The reported capacity of 214.557,9 tonnes/year in data set 3 is the total waste that was energetically recovered in the reference year for the single facility (co-incineration plant) treating waste for energy recovery purposes (R1).
18.4. Data validation
Extensive validation was performed on the data, which included comparisons over time, the shares of waste generation by economic activity, the share of hazardous waste to the total amounts generated, treatment operations by waste category, etc. Implausible combinations of waste categories and treatment operations were also checked. These validation checks have resulted in improvements of the final data released. However, some fluctuations over the years are unavoidable, firstly due to the structure of the economy and the existence of very few large enterprises that may lead to outliers, secondly due to one-off projects and finally due to the possibility of wrong classification of waste streams by the reporting enterprises.
Data were cross-checked with other sources such as exports and imports of waste from the international trade in goods statistics, exports and imports and waste generated that are reported under the Basel Convention Reporting. Moreover, using reports from the Electronic Waste Registry we tried to track the movements of waste as much as possible.
18.5. Data compilation
This section is about collecting data on capacity of treatment facilities.
18.5.1. Imputation - rate
Not applicable.
18.5.2. Wet matter for sludges
| 03.2 Industrial effluent sludges |
03.2 Industrial effluent sludges |
11 Common sludges |
12.7 Dredging spoils |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| non-hazardous | hazardous | non-hazardous | non-hazardous | |
| Amounts | 2079.09 | 2184.19 | 68156.89 | Not available |
18.5.3. Indicators
| 03.2 Industrial effluent sludges |
03.2 Industrial effluent sludges |
11 Common sludges |
12.7 Dredging spoils |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| non-hazardous | hazardous | non-hazardous | non-hazardous | |
| Amounts |
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable.
18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment
Not applicable.
No other comments.
See sub sections.
28 June 2024
Statistical concepts and definitions used are based on the thorough implementation of the provisions of the Waste Statistics Regulation and the guidelines being given by Eurostat.
The statistical unit is the enterprise or the treatment facility.
Waste generation data refers to waste generated on the national territory (Government controlled area of Cyprus).
Waste treatment data covers all waste treated on the national territory (Government controlled area of Cyprus).
Data cover the Government controlled area of Cyprus.
The reference period is 2022.
Cyprus has still some work to do in order to implement fully what is foreseen in national legislation, which requires that all treatment facilities for incineration, recovery, or disposal purposes obtain an appropriate licence from the competent authorities.The registers kept have proved to be deficient since the provisions of the legislation are not properly implemented. Therefore, the Statistical Service continues to collect data directly from the enterprises in order to cross-check the quality of the data. Over the last years, a considerable improvement in data availability on waste treatment from administrative sources has been observed which has greatly facilitated the production of statistics. Detailed administrative records were made available from treatmentfacilities, at least for particular waste streams. However, despite this big step forward, deficiencies were discovered that required thorough investigation on our side and consultation, both with the Department of Environment and the treatment facilities themselves. These deficiencies are expected to diminish with time.
Data are reported in tonnes of normal wet waste; for sludge (Stat-EWC 3.2, 3.3,11, 12.7), the dry matter in tonnes is reported.
This section is about collecting data on capacity of treatment facilities.
See the concept 3.1.1 above.
The results are envisaged to be disseminated nationally in December 2024 via the web portal of the Statistical Service.
Data transmission to Eurostat was performed within the time period set by the Waste Statistics Regulation.
Data have been collected based on the methodological guidelines provided by Eurostat through the Waste Statistics Regulation, the waste statistics manual and the discussions that took place in the relevant working groups and workshops. Based on the experience of the previous surveys and in order to set the right base for future surveys and to maintain quality and comparability, a country specific methodological guidebook was produced for use by the interviewers, providing them with useful informationwhich would assist them during the interview.
The quality of the data reported improves with each round of survey as the reporting of certain waste streams in done on a more standardised and consistent manner and access to administrative records is enhanced.
It is worth mentioning that for those economic activities and waste streams where significant differences can be observed between the values reported for 2022 and those reported for 2020, data have been verified and the reasons behind these differences are appropriately explained.
Restricted from publication
