Fact Sheet 8 Companies and operators v2 Sheet … · recovery and recycling sector in EU25,...
Transcript of Fact Sheet 8 Companies and operators v2 Sheet … · recovery and recycling sector in EU25,...
PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
IEEP, BIO, ECOLOGIC, UMWELTBUNDESAMT, ARCADIS, VITO
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FACT SHEET 8: NUMBER AND DISTRIBUTION OF RELEVANT COMPANIES AND OPERATORS
IN THE EU
Emma Watkins
Draft v2, 4 March 2010
1. Conceptualisation of the issue
This fact sheet is intended to provide an assessment of the different operators, the scale and
type of operations undertaken, to provide an overall picture of EU waste companies and
operators.
2. Assessment of the issue
According to a paper prepared by the EU Presidency for the Council (February 2009),
recycling makes a significant contribution to the EU economy and to job opportunities. The
turnover of waste management and recycling industries in the EU is €95 billion, and they
provide between 1.2 and 1.5 million jobs. This includes waste collection, sorting, and the
reuse and recycling of materials. In the recycling sector there are over 60,000 companies, of
which over 95% are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).1
A query to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) indicates that
there are 4,382 industrial facilities engaged in waste management activity in the EU27 plus
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. (This includes facilities dealing with: disposal/recovery of
hazardous waste, incineration/disposal of non-hazardous waste, landfills and
disposal/recycling of animal carcasses/animal waste.) It must be recognised, however, that
only facilities above IPPC threshold levels are obliged to report to the E-PRTR; this cannot
therefore be taken as an accurate representation of the total number of waste management
facilities in the EU.2
The OECD Environmental Data Compendium 2006-2008 includes data on the number (and
capacity) of waste treatment and disposal installations including landfill sites, incineration
plants and other treatment plants (this includes physical, chemical and biological treatment).
Data is very patchy, in some cases rather old, and from different years for each country,
ranging from 1998 to 2006). The data is also recognised as not representing all waste
treatment and disposal facilities, and that the specific services and activities may vary from
country to country. With those caveats applied, the report suggests there are something in
the region of, for non-hazardous waste: 8,636 landfill sites (data from 18 EU MS), 546
incineration plants (16 MS) and 8,470 ‘treatment plants’ (12 MS). For hazardous waste there
are something in the region of: 113 landfill sites (10 MS), 254 incineration plants (9 MS) and
340 ‘treatment plants’ (8 MS). (See table under source 3 in annex.) This totals 17,652
facilities for non-hazardous waste and 707 facilities for hazardous waste; it is not stated
whether there is overlap between these two groups of facilities.3
Eurostat holds figures on waste treatment facilities in the MS in 2004 and 2006, providing
data on the number and capacity (in tonnes per year) of recovery and disposal operations.
PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
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These figures are likely to be more reliable and complete than those from the E-PRTR or the
OECD Compendium. In 2006, the EU27 had: 5,170 facilities for incineration with energy
recovery (R1); 3,897 facilities for other incineration (D10); 50,682 facilities for recycling (R2-
11); 10,286 facilities for landfilling (D1, D3-5, D12); and 154 facilities for land treatment,
release into water (D2, D6, D7).6 (See figure under source 6 in annex; includes data for
individual MS.) (NB see fact sheet 3 Rates of preparation for re-use, recycling and recovery
for some data on evolution of the number and capacity of waste treatment facilities in the
EU27.)
The ‘Optimising markets for recycling - final report’ from November 2008 paints a picture of
the market situation at the EU level. The report cites a 2007 report (Dutch and European
waste market review) that distinguished between three business concepts in household
waste companies: Multi Utility (waste but also energy/transport/water); Vertically
integrated waste services (services ranging from collection to treatment and recycling); and
Niche player (firms that focus on a technology/concept/region/sector). It also cites a report
by D Hall ‘Waste management companies in Europe 2007’, that indicated significant
concentration in the waste management sector between early 2006 and June 2007, with 16
major mergers and acquisitions taking place to a total value of €12.5 billion. Half of the
deals, and all the largest deals, involved private equity firms. A table in the report indicates
the uneven distribution of the size of municipal waste management companies. Another
table in the November 2008 report shows that the market share of the three largest
operators in 2006 was over 40% in Spain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium. (See tables
38 and 39 under source 4 in annex.)4
The report goes into further detail on the companies/market in various waste recycling
sectors:
• PVC: One study suggested around 3,000 companies in Europe in 2006 active in the
mechanical plastics recycling industry; 100 of those process around 80% of the total
volumes that are mechanically recycled, implying that the market contains many very
small companies. Another study suggested that from 97 post consumer PVC waste
recyclers in the EU15 who responded to a survey, the 10 largest performed 51% of the
total recycling. There is also a lot of in-house recycling of post-industrial PVC waste.4
• Batteries: The lead battery industry (the major consumer of materials recovered from
batteries) includes some producers who also recycle, and some recyclers who also
collect and sort storage batteries. The supply side of the secondary lead smelters market
is concentrated with a few large suppliers and a lot of small players. Scrap dealers
operate on the market as traders. A table is included showing a relatively small number
of battery recyclers in Europe for each type of battery (ranging from 14 to 3) (see table
40 under source 4 in annex). 4
• Biogas production: A 1999 study by the French environmental agency ADEME found
there were 53 plants in Europe (including 30 in Germany and 12 in Switzerland) with an
annual capacity of 1,037,000 tonnes. 4
• Cardboard and beverage cartons: The supply of cardboard for recycling is competitive;
the market has a lot of suppliers of different sizes (suppliers who own recovery
PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
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installations, “small” traders and “large” traders). In 2008 there were more than 20
paper mills in the EU recycling beverage cartons; again this market had a few large
suppliers and a lot of small players. 4
A report prepared by a group of consultants for DG Employment in May 2009 (Investing in
the Future of Jobs and Skills: Scenarios, implications and options in anticipation of future
skills and knowledge needs. Sector Report for Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste)7 suggests
that outsourcing is commonly used in the waste collection sector in order to promote
efficiency as competition on the market is not possible; the level of outsourcing waste
collection differs greatly between EU countries, however, whilst almost never exceeding
50% of municipalities (see table 6.1 under source 7 in annex).7
The Impact Assessment (IA) for the Waste TS stated that the waste sector had been steadily
developing in the EU for over a decade, with high growth rates driven by the
implementation of EU and national waste policies. Two sub-sectors were identified:
• specialised waste management companies (collection, incineration, landfill, composting,
etc.). Estimated turnover of over €75 billion for the EU25; 500,000 jobs; estimated
growth of around 11% per annum; over 14,500 known installations in the EU15
disposing of waste, recovering hazardous waste and incinerating waste (specialised
installations recovering non-hazardous waste not documented).
• businesses recovering and recycling materials (paper, glass, metals, etc.). Estimated
500,000 to 1 million jobs in EU25, including over 35,000 jobs in social economy
organisations in EU15; over 60,000 enterprises in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals
recovery and recycling sector in EU25, employing 500,000 persons.5
3. Collation of information (if available) re anticipated future trends
Very little information has been found to date on anticipated future trends. The report by D
Hall, however, stated that ‘all commentators and observers expect further concentration [of
the waste management sector] through acquisition’.4
4. Conclusions
It is difficult to draw meaningful conclusions on this data category as information found to
date is incomplete and patchy. No source provides a complete picture of waste companies
and operators in the EU; in fact it may not be possible to produce such a picture due to the
nature of waste management and recycling, which is undertaken by a mixture of a few very
large and many very small companies. That said, the following are some tentative
conclusions:
• There are three main identifiable business concepts in household waste companies:
Multi Utility (waste but also energy/transport/water); Vertically integrated waste
services (services ranging from collection to treatment and recycling); and Niche player
(firms that focus on a technology/concept/region/sector).
• An EU Presidency paper from February 2009 suggested that the recycling sector had
over 60,000 companies, over 95% of which were SMEs. Waste management and
recycling industries provide between 1.2 and 1.5 million jobs in the EU.
PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
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• The Impact Assessment (IA) for the Waste TS stated that specialised waste management
companies had an estimated turnover of over €75 billion and 500,000 jobs in the EU25;
recovery and recycling businesses provided up to an estimated 1 million jobs, with over
60,000 enterprises in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals recovery and recycling sector
in EU25, employing 500,000 persons.
• Several sources corroborate the view that the recycling sector consists of few large and
many small companies.
• The waste management sector experienced significant concentration between early
2006 and June 2007; the market share of the three largest operators in 2006 was over
40% in Spain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
• On waste management, in 2006 the EU27 had: 5,170 facilities for incineration with
energy recovery (R1); 3,897 facilities for other incineration (D10); 50,682 facilities for
recycling (R2-11); 10,286 facilities for landfilling (D1, D3-5, D12); and 154 facilities for
land treatment, release into water (D2, D6, D7).
• The IA for the Waste TS stated that there were over 14,500 known installations in the
EU15 disposing of waste, recovering hazardous waste and incinerating waste
(specialised installations recovering non-hazardous waste were not documented).
5. Ongoing data needs
During the first sweep of data sources, no single source has been found that can provide a
comprehensive picture of the waste management or recycling sectors. Any further data
sources identified will help to make a more reliable assessment.
6. References
Reference
number
Source Link Details Comments on
the information
1 Presidency Paper to
the Environment
Council on the fall in
demand for recycled
materials (February
2009)
http://register.c
onsilium.europa
.eu/pdf/en/09/s
t06/st06918.en
09.pdf
Limited
statistical data
but some
picture of the
recycling
market in the
EU
2 European Pollutant
Release and Transfer
Register (E-PRTR)
http://prtr.ec.e
uropa.eu/Facilit
yLevels.aspx
Includes waste
installations
(e.g. landfill and
incinerators)
that are over
the IPPC
threshold limits
3 OECD Environmental http://www.oec - number of
PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
IEEP, BIO, ECOLOGIC, UMWELTBUNDESAMT, ARCADIS, VITO
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Data COMPENDIUM
2006-2008
d.org/dataoecd
/22/58/418781
86.pdf
waste
treatment and
disposal
installations for
non-hazardous
and hazardous
waste
4 Optimising Markets
for Recycling Final
report (approved
version) The
European
Commission – DG
Environment (Nov
2008)
http://ec.europ
a.eu/environme
nt/enveco/wast
e/pdf/optimisin
g_markets_rep
ort.pdf
Detailed info on
some aspects of
companies
present waste
management
and recycling
markets
5 Impact Assessment
on the Thematic
Strategy on the
prevention and
recycling of waste
and the immediate
implementing
measures
Commission Staff
Working Document,
non-official but
public)
http://ec.europ
a.eu/environme
nt/waste/pdf/ia
_waste.pdf
6 Eurostat, Waste
treatment facilities
at country level,
2004, 2006
http://epp.euro
stat.ec.europa.e
u/portal/page/p
ortal/waste/doc
uments/Waste
%20treatment%
20facilities.mht
7 Investing in the
Future of Jobs and
Skills: Scenarios,
implications and
options in
anticipation of
future skills and
knowledge needs.
Sector Report for
http://ec.europ
a.eu/social/mai
n.jsp?langId=en
&catId=782&ne
wsId=554&furth
erNews=yes
PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
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Electricity, Gas,
Water and Waste
(May 2009)
7. Next Steps (if any)
Companies/industries/trade bodies could usefully be contacted to see if they hold more
reliable or complete data on the number of companies and operators.
NB Also that Commission/MS implementation reports on waste legislation have not yet been
checked for this factsheet; they may contain e.g. some data on number of landfills,
incinerators, but probably limited (if any) data on private companies as this presumably falls
outside the scope of reporting.
8. Annexes
Source 3:
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Source 4:
PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
IEEP, BIO, ECOLOGIC, UMWELTBUNDESAMT, ARCADIS, VITO
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Source 6:
PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
IEEP, BIO, ECOLOGIC, UMWELTBUNDESAMT, ARCADIS, VITO
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PREPARATORY STUDY FOR THE REVIEW OF THE THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING OF WASTE
IEEP, BIO, ECOLOGIC, UMWELTBUNDESAMT, ARCADIS, VITO
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Source 7: