Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA)

Waste and Data

Lerchesgade 35
5000 Odense C
Denmark

9 July 2025

9 July 2025

9 July 2025

The data on waste amounts is sourced from the Danish Waste Data System (WDS), which covers the collection and treatment of all types of waste, including packaging waste. This dataset is complemented by Waste Composition Analyses (WCA), which measure the amount of packaging in mixed waste and the amount of target materials in separately collected streams.
The WCAs have been carried out over the past few years by the DEPA, municipalities, and various companies. Data from these reports has been used to establish national coefficients for packaging that are multiplied by the amounts of waste as registered in the WDS.

Reporting is done according to the new calculation rules.

The derogation to make use of average loss rates has been applied.

Table : Institutions involved in the collection of data and distribution of tasks

Waste is classified based on the EU's EWC (LoW) and Danish waste codes (Appendix 2) Bekendtgørelse om Affaldsdatasystemet

We utilize the Danish treatment codes for waste management reporting. These codes include recycling, incineration, landfilling, special treatment, tax-free incineration, tax-free landfilling, preparation for reuse, and other final material recovery. When reporting recycling values to Eurostat, we aggregate waste data marked with the Danish codes for recycling, preparation for reuse, or special treatment combined with R2 to R12. When reporting energy recovery values to Eurostat, we aggregate waste data marked with the Danish codes for incineration or tax-free incineration, or special treatment combined with R1, D10, or R13

Data covers all sectors - household, business, industry, recycling sites, etc

Wish to take into account the amount of metals in incineration bottom ash (IBA) for the calculation of the targets.

Glass: National bottle deposit system and bottle washing in place for glass,
Plastic: Reuse of boxes in industies,
Metal: Reuse of e.g. gas cylinders,
Wood: Reuse pool system and repair of wood pallets.

Packaging is primarily sent for recycling and incineration with energy recovery.

The assumption is made that the amount of packaging in the waste stream has been introduced to the market in the same year.

All reporting waste operators.

All reporting waste producers.

Denmark

This report covers 2023. Data is expected to be stored for a minimum of 20 years

Not applicable.

Tonnes

Calendar year

Please find information at this websites:

• Executive Order on the Waste Data System.
• Executive Order on waste.

Not applicable. Data is produced directly in EPA.

Public Administration Act. 
European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Executive Order on the Waste Data System

All data are aggregated before being published.

The Waste Statistics is published annually and expected to be available at the end of the year.
The Packaging Waste Statistics is published annually and expected to be available at the end of the year.

It is not established by law and therefore there is no official calendar.

The statistics are published on EPS's website. Most often, a news item is made in this connection

Annual.

Ad-hoc press releases linked to the data.

• Packaging 2023
• Waste Statistics 2023

The Danish Waste Data System - Access requires a the Danish Digital ID (MitID) - foreign companies required to report data gets a one time token.

The Danish National Waste Data System.

Waste statistics data 2018-2022

Not applicable.

Statistik for emballageforsyning og indsamling af emballageaffald 2022 (Waste packaging report for 2022).

 Opdateret metode til udarbejdelse af emballagestatistik (Methodology for reporting on packaging waste).

Not available.

A detailed description of the Danish Waste Data System can be found in Appendix 1 of the following report: Waste Statistics 2015

In general, all waste collectors, receivers, exporters, and importers are required to report information on the type, mass, treatment, producer, and receiver of waste to the Danish Waste Data System.
To prevent double counting of waste flows, all waste outputs from a waste receiver are marked and excluded. Other reports and descriptions of the system can be found at the following website:
Affaldsdatasystemet (ADS) - Miljøstyrelsen

Further infomation can be found here: Find affaldsdata - Miljøstyrelsen.

Not available.

Statistics Denmark, Department of the Ministry of the Environment, municipalities, private companies, etc.

Webinars, e.g. talks with trade association etc. 

Primary, secondary and transport packaging made of wood, metal, plastic, paper and cardboard, glass are covered. Final treatment by waste operators is estimated. 

Regarding the amounts of treated packaging waste, there is a very small risk of double counting or wrong code-combination when reporting to the Danish waste data system.
The data quality is considered to be good, as the statistics are compiled on the basis of a solid data.
There is a difference between POM and waste generation.

The information in this section is to provide an overarching understanding of the accuracy of any statistical surveys used relating to packaging waste. Some of the information may be available in previous questions.

The information in this section is to provide an overarching understanding of the accuracy of any statistical surveys used relating to packaging waste. Some of the information may be available in other concepts.

Not applicable

Errors can occur on different stages of data production.
The consultant who prepares the packaging statistics and data for the EU report carries out specific quality assurance and validation of relevant data. These validations are reviewed with EPA.

1 year nationally

There is no time lag.

Denmark's calculation method is very different from other EU countries, as DK has a Waste Data System with very precise data on waste in Denmark.
Therefore, it can be difficult to make comparison with other european countries. 

Due to EU requirements for reporting quantities of packaging waste that is actually recycled, there was a break in data between 2019 og 2020.
Denmark have introduced a new calculation method in relation to quantities actually recycled, which is used for plastic, glas and paper/cardboard packaging only. 
DK do not have data specifically for aluminum and iron, therefore we use an estimated percentage for the distribution of the two types. 

Not applicable.

Actual recycling rates has changed for plastic, fiber and glass due to change in methodology. In previous years Denmark made use of estimated loss rates, whereas from the data year 2023 a dynamic model is used for calculation of actual recycling rates. 

Explanation detailing the causes of the tonnage difference (in relation to which waste streams, sectors or estimates have caused the difference, and what the underlying cause is) for any component of packaging waste generated and recycled which shows greater than a 10 % variation from the data submitted for the previous data year.

Not applicable.

Executive Order on the Waste Data System

We did not correct backwards data series. We are unfortunately not able to send the revised data for previous years.

The data on waste amounts is sourced from the Danish Waste Data System, which covers the collection and treatment of all types of waste, including packaging waste.
This dataset is complemented by waste composition analyses, which measure the amount of packaging in mixed waste and the amount of target materials in separately collected streams.
The waste analyzes have been carried out over the past few years, the latest in 2023. These are summaries of data from reports made by DK EPA, municipalities and various companies. The distributions for the waste are then multiplied by the amounts of residual waste in ADS.

The waste samples for waste analysis are taken from:

Data is collected from companies at least once a year. Sorting analyzes are performed less frequently. 

Appendix 1: Publications.

By utilizing data from the Danish Waste Data System, it is possible to combine waste analysis data, enabling the calculation of the amount of packaging in residual waste streams, among others.
Additionally, waste analyses have been conducted to distinguish between packaging and non-packaging waste, such as plastic, in separately collected waste

The amount of composite is calculated from ADS data. The amount is then distributed among the individual fractions.

Additional information about the methodology, including the combination of methods used:

A detailed description of the Danish Waste Data System can be found in Appendix 1 of the following report:  publications. 
In general, all waste collectors, receivers, exporters, and importers are required to report information on the type, mass, treatment, producer, and receiver of waste to the Danish Waste Data System. To prevent double counting of waste flows, all waste outputs from a waste receiver are marked and excluded. Other reports and descriptions of the system can be found at the following websites:

• Reports Overview.
• The Danish Environmental Protection Agency - Waste Reports.

No surveys used. All waste is reported with treatment and waste type.

Questionnaires are used to obtain data about reusable packaging from major actors within the industry. But uncertainty arises due to the absence of a comprehensive system for registering reused packaging, and only a few industries or companies maintain detailed statistics on these quantities.
There is especial a lack of knowledge about the number of circulation cycles per year and the overall lifespan of the packaging.

Calculation of recycling of metals from incinerator bottom ash : Detailed description of the method to collect data in order to calculate the amount of metals separated from incineration bottom ash in accordance with the Commission Implementing Act adopted in accordance with Article 37(7) of Directive 2008/98/EC.

The Danish waste data system, an electronic registry, enables quality control of waste dataset and is available by the municipalities that actively monitors waste streams for compliance with current legislation, including legislation on waste and packaging.

The Danish waste data system, an electronic registry, enables quality control of waste dataset and is available by the municipalities that actively moniters waste streams for compliance with current legislation, including legislation on waste and packaging.
The consultant who prepares the packaging statistics and data for the EU report carries out specific quality assurance and validation of relevant data. These validations are reviewed with EPA.

Description can be found here:
Legislation on shipment of waste - The Danish Environmental Protection Agency

The columns in the table relate to information on verification procedures used within the national statistical reporting system to validate the accuracy of the data.

The columns in the table relate to information on verification procedures used within the national statistical reporting system to validate the accuracy of the data.

See below

Primary sources and their shares in the total.

(*) Necessity of a certain minimum amount of waste, turnover etc. to be registered 

Primary sources and their shares in the total.

(*) Necessity of a certain minimum amount of waste, turnover etc. to be registered

Packaging waste generated estimated by waste analysis

These quantities are calculated based on the BEA method. You can read more about this calculation here: Waste packaging report for 2022

This is not relevant to our method. If it has ended up as waste in Denmark, it counts, as we have reports from all waste handling companies.

We are able to sort data specifically for packaging waste by using the Danish waste codes, such as "Packaging plastics" or "Packaging wood".
When these codes are combined with relevant EWC codes, we can achieve a higher level of reliability regarding the type of waste being reported

Composting facilities in Denmark generally do not receive waste containing compostable plastic or cardboard and paper as part of the targeted materials.

The collection of composite materials is a new process, and as a result, no quantities have been collected for recycling yet. However, with the new sorting requirements in Denmark, it is now necessary to collect composite waste, which is expected to result in quantities collected for recycling in the future. As part of this effort, an assessment will also be made of the distribution to the individual fractions. It's important to note that composite waste is not identified separately in the Danish waste data system at the moment.

Description of the sorted packaging waste to which ALRs are applied, types of sorting plants to which different ALRs apply, the methodological approach to calculating ALRs at such point(s), including the statistical accuracy of any surveys used, or the nature of any technical specifications.

See below

Description, where applicable, of the methodology to exclude non-packaging waste from the reported amount of recycled packaging waste and of the methodology to correct the amount of packaging waste at the measurement point in order to reflect the natural humidity rate of packaging (including by using relevant European standards). Aggregated data across facilities of a similar type is acceptable.

Description of the methodology to exclude waste originating from other countries, where applicable. Aggregated data across facilities of a similar type is acceptable.

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