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Surveys on Waste Generation

• 1Contact
  • 1.1Contact organisation
    National Statistics Institute of Spain
    
  • 1.5Contact mail address

    Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid

    
    
• 2Metadata update
  • 2.1Metadata last certified
    12/11/2024
  • 2.2Metadata last posted
    26/11/2020
  • 2.3Metadata last update
    12/11/2024
• 3Statistical presentation
  • 3.1Data description

    In order provide information on economic sectors, the INE covers every two alternate years, the study of waste generated by the different economic activities. To do so, the INE either designs specific surveys or uses those existing, like in waste generation in industry which is researched by including a module in the Survey on Environment in Industry.

    The main objective of the survey on waste generation (module) in Industry is to quantify the total amount of waste generated by the industrial sector. It studies both hazardous and non-hazardous waste which is product of the industrial activity of companies and its final destination, specifying the use of public containers and/or waste recycling centres, the handing over of the waste to an authorised agent or other destinations.

    The survey on waste generation in the services and construction sectors, researches the amount of various solid waste that is generated in these sectors by tonnes. For greater accuracy, however, this information is requested by kilograms. This way, it is possible to study from the generation of sanitary and biological waste in hospitals to mineral construction and demolition waste generated by companies dedicated to construction activities.

  • 3.2Classification system
    • Clasificaciones utilizadas

      Waste is classified according to the Statistical Classification of Waste (SCO. Stat, V.4) and the European List of Waste (LOW). Correspondence between both may be seen in the following link:

      
      
      

      https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco42/resiurba/equivalencias_en.pdf

      
      
      

      National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE-2009)

  • 3.3Sector coverage

    Waste generation in services and construction: Sections F to S (except O) of CNAE-2009

    Waste generation in industry.: Sections B, to D of CNAE-2009

  • 3.4Statistical concepts and definitions
    • Company
      The company is the smallest combination of legal units that is an organizational unit producing goods or
      services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the
      allocation of its current resources. A company carries out one or more activities at one or more
      locations. A company may be a sole legal unit.
    • European Waste Catalogue (EWC)
      This is a waste listing standardised to a European level. This waste is classified using six-digit codes for the waste, and four and two figures for subchapters and chapters, respectively. The chapters and subchapters define the types of activity that generate the waste.
    • Hazardous waste
      Means waste which displays one or more of the hazardous properties listed in Annex III of the present directive;
    • Non-hazardous waste
      All waste not included as hazardous waste.
    • Statistical Waste Classification (SWC codes)
      This is a nomenclature for waste for statistical purposes, directed at substances, with categories encoded from 1 to 4 digits from highest to lowest breakdown level, and with an additional distinction of whether or not the waste is hazardous.
    • Waste
      Means any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.
  • 3.5Statistical unit

     

    The basic statistical unit of the survey on waste generation in industry is the industrial establishment.

     

    In the case of the survey on waste generation in services and construction, the statistical unit is the business.

  • 3.6Statistical population

     

    Waste generation in industry.: The target population of study is the group of industrial establishments, with more than 10 remunerated employed persons, whose main economic activity is included in sections B, C or D of the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE-2009).

     

    Waste generation in services and construction: The target population of study is the group of businesses, with more than 10 remunerated employed persons, whose by main economic activity is included in sections F to S of CNAE-2009 (excluding sections from K to O).

     

  • 3.7Reference area

    The entire national territory

  • 3.8Time coverage
    Biennial
  • 3.9Base period

    2010: Adjustment to the new Statistical Classification of Waste (SCO-Stat. rev.4).

• 4Unit of measure
  • 4.1Unit of measure

    Kilogram

• 5Reference period
  • 5.1Reference period

    Year object of the survey

    Data referred to the period: Anual A: 2022

• 6Institutional mandate
  • 6.1Legal acts and other agreements

    The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15  December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).

    
    

    Statistics on waste generation appear as statistical operation 8112 Statistics on Waste generation of the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. Regulation 2150/2002 of waste statistics ( https://www.ine.es/normativa/leyes/UE/minine.htm#30078) is only applied on even reference years.
     

  • 6.2Data sharing
    The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.
    

    The microdata regarding the services sector is provided to the Autonomous Communities upon request.

• 7Confidentiality
  • 7.1Confidentiality - policy

    The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society

    
    
  • 7.2Confidentiality - data treatment
    INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.
    

    The data is published at national level and are broken down by sections, groups or classes as long as there are no confidentiality problems.

• 8Release policy
  • 8.1Release calendar

    The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.

    
    
  • 8.2Release calendar access

    The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)

    
    
  • 8.3User access

    The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice

    
    
• 9Frequency of dissemination
  • 9.1Frequency of dissemination

    Two-yearly

• 10Accessibility and clarity
  • 10.1News release

    The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web

    
    
  • 10.2Publications

    Results are published in INEBASE.

  • 10.3On-line database

    INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.

    
    

    Access to results tables and series in INEbase / Statistics / Agriculture and environment / Waste and Environmental Protection:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/categoria.htm?c=Estadistica_P&cid=1254735976612

  • 10.4Micro-data access
    A lot of statistical operations disseminate public domain anonymized files, available free of charge for downloading in the INE website Microdata Section
    

    The anonymised microdata file can only be provided via specific request, once the viability of the request granting access to the information under strict confidentiality conditions is analysed. .

  • 10.5Other

    There is the option of requesting customised information from the INE Customer Service Area:

    https://www.ine.es/en/prodyser/informacion

    or:

    https://www.ine.es/infoine

    Limitations to confidentiality or precision are borne in mind at the time of processing said requests.

     

  • 10.6Documentation on methodology

    A description is available in the following links:

    https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176841&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976612

    http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-manuals-and-guidelines/-/KS-RA-10-011

     

  • 10.7Quality documentation

    The European Commission (Eurostat) assesses the quality of the transmitted data, and publishes reports on the quality of European statistics, by virtue of Commission regulation 2005/0782R and European Parliament and Council Regulation 2005/1445R (https://www.ine.es/normativa/leyes/UE/minine.htm#30078).

    For even reference years, this responsible department compiles and sends Eurostat the required quality report relating to the statistics on waste generation, treatment and facilities. The quality reports that the Member States send to Eurostat are made public.

     

    https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/env_wasgt_esms.htm

    The information relating to the quality of this statistical operation is described in points 10.6 to 17 of this document.

     

• 11Quality management
  • 11.1Quality assurance

    Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.

    
    

    Validation rules have been programmed by the Collection Units (URCEs) so as to filter the data inserted by the respondent. Once the data arrives to the Responsible Department, it is subjected to additional micro and macro-filtering controls and care will be taken in order to not insert errors in the treatment of the microdata. It is subjected to comparisons with that of previous years when possible, and special emphasis is put on blank cells.

  • 11.2Quality assessment

    It is considered that the samples are sufficiently representative of the target population at national level. The data undergoes interannual verification criteria, as well as its comparison with external sources when available.

• 12Relevance
  • 12.1User needs

    Among the users are:

    - Economy and the Environment University departments

    - Various business sectors (construction, mining, metallurgy, chemical, etc)

    - Public Administration Institutions (Ministry of the Agricultural, Fishing and Food, Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and regional boards of the Environment).

    The interest of the aforementioned users is focused on the generation of waste at national level as well as in specific activity sectors (mining, industry, construction, services, etc) and specific categories of waste (non-ferrous metallic, chemical, paper, etc.) and of the crossing of activities / categories of waste. These information requirements are fully satisfied in even/odd reference years according to the activity in question.

    Due to the fact that the sample size does not allow break down at regional level, the information requirements of Environmental regional councils cannot be met.

  • 12.2User satisfaction

    The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013,  2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...

    On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click  next link)

     

    
    

    Users are provided with the information they require, respecting the confidentiality of said information. With the exceptions mentioned in 13.1 regarding regional break downs and exceptional cases of requirements for information with a greater breakdown level by activity, users are satisfied with the information provided.

  • 12.3Completeness

    This section is not applicable to odd reference years, due to the fact that the reference years as per Regulation 2150/2002 are the even years.

    In even reference years, sections B to D (CNAE-2009) are studied by survey and in odd reference years section F to S, except sections K and O (CNAE-2009), researching all the categories of waste included in the Regulation.

    Consequently,

    R1: Rate of available statistical results = 100%

• 13Accuracy and reliability
  • 13.1Overall accuracy

    The sample design minimises the sampling errors, and the different survey processes are aimed at reducing the errors thereof, both in the collection phase (response rate and filtering control) and in the subsequent editing and imputation phases.
    

  • 13.2Sampling error

     

    The reference framework for the survey on waste generation in industry is the Central Business Register (CBR) for the economic activities from 05 to 09, and the Annual Industrial Products Survey (AIPS) for the economic activities from 10 to 35. The establishment population is stratified according to their main economic activity (CNAE-2009 divisions) and their size, based on the number of employed persons,

    The reference framework for the survey on waste generation in services and construction is the Central Business Register (CBR) for economic activities between sections F to S, except O, of CNAE-2009. The business population is stratified, according to their main economic activity (CNAE-2009 divisions, groups or classes) and their size, based on the number of employed persons.

    Sampling errors of the main variables are calculated at different breakdown levels. This data can be consulted in the INE website (https://ine.es/jaxi/Tabla.htm?path=/t26/e068/p02/serie/l0/&file=02001.px&L=0)

    Total Industry A1(NH)=1.69

    Total Industry A1(H)=2.85

  • 13.3Non-sampling error

    Non-sampling errors are controlled throughout the entire statistical process, particularly, there are exhaustive controls of duplicates and possible under-coverage. Specific information is also available regarding the non-response rate.
    
    Generation in industry:

    A4 (Non-response rate) waste generation in industry = 7.33%

    A2 (Tasa de sobrecobertura) waste generation in industry = 7.69%

    A7 (Tasa de imputación) waste generation in industry = 0%

     

    Generation in services and construction

     A4 (Non-response rate) waste generation in services and construction = 24.82%

    A3 (Proportion of common units when using administrative sampling and sources) waste generation in services and construction= 0,0%

    A2 (Overcoverage rate) waste generation in services and construction = 6.02%

    A7 (Imputation rate) waste generation in services and construction = 0.04%

     

     

• 14Timeliness and punctuality
  • 14.1Timeliness

    TP2 = 23 months.

    When assessing these quality indicators, it shall be taken into account that the data collection process starts in October of each year.

  • 14.2Punctuality

    Data is disseminated in accordance with the INE availability calendar of structural statistics.

• 15Coherence and Comparability
  • 15.1Comparability - geographical

    Regulation 2150/2002 is strictly applied -whether or not submitting data to Eurostat is compulsory-, which guarantees data comparability with other countries which have carried out this survey in odd years.

     

  • 15.2Comparability - over time

    Surveys on waste generation are carried out every two years, this way obtaining estimates which are assisted by models for the activities which are not researched in each specific year. The continuous application of the methodology during the survey years as well as homogeneity in tabulations every year (even and odd) guarantees comparability in time.

    Nevertheless, there have been two breaks in the series: one related with the change of CNAE (to be applied to the data from 2008 onwards) and another one with the entry into force of the amendments of regulation 2150/2002 (from 2010 onwards).

    CC1 (Number of comparable elements of the time series as of the last break) = 12

  • 15.3Coherence - cross domain

    Once the final results of the waste generated by activities are obtained, they are compared with data regarding the collection and treatment survey. In this way, the possible lack of internal coherence between generation and treatment is corrected. By virtue of the partnership agreements with the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, coherence with the data provided by this institution is guaranteed.

    Given the special singularity of the researched variables (waste produced in physical amounts), the difference in coherence with other variables researched by the INE or other external sources is not immediate. Nevertheless, similarity comparisons are carried out on the evolution patterns of the economic variables by activity sectors.

     

  • 15.4Coherence - internal

    Coherence is a fundamental matter, both in the planning of the survey methodology, and in all of its preparation process. The coherence between the variables is contrasted in all phases of the statistical process.

    These statistics are coherent at internal level. The annual results of all variables are coherent with each other and with the available annual series

• 16Cost and burden
  • 16.1Cost and burden

    For the purpose of reducing the response burden of respondent units, the completion of the questionnaires is facilitated for some large business groups, making the contacts directly from the department in charge of the survey, rather than doing so from the Subdirectorate General for Data Collection.

    Moreover, the design and selection of the sample are coordinated with other surveys, for the purpose of reducing, as much as possible, the overburden of certain respondent units that would be derived from the completion of several surveys in the same year. Cooperation formulae are established, so as to take the most advantage of the available information and to avoid the unnecessary duplication of statistical operations. The sample size and the extension of the questionnaires are reduced to the essential minimum.

    In terms of the data collection, online completion is encouraged as a method that is easy and secure for respondents, and which enables achieving higher levels of information quality. In any case, respondents have other possible response channels available (print questionnaire by post, fax, electronic questionnaire.

    The budget credit needed to finance the Statistics on Waste Generation in the 2022 Annual Program has been 899,95 thousand euros

     

• 17Data revision
  • 17.1Data revision - policy

    The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).

    This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow:  routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.

    
    

    The data published are provisional and may be revised when the data for the following year are released.

  • 17.2Data revision - practice

     

    In practice, provisional data can be published and subsequently disseminated with definite character, in which the possible errors detected are corrected.

• 18Statistical processing
  • 18.1Source data

    The data obtained is based on a direct stratified sampling survey, (by activity and size of the company). The units are not updated. Reserves are not used

    The information regarding the main characteristics of the sample, and the directory used as the survey framework, may be viewed in the link of the methodology

    https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco42/resiurba/notaresi_ser_en.pdf

    https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco42/resiurba/notaresi_ind_en.pdf

    The Central Business Register (CBR) is used as a reference framework for all the divisions, except for divisions 10 to 35 of CNAE-2009, for which the Annual Industrial Products Survey (AIPS) is used.

    The CBR is a register that assigns and classifies statistical units by main economic activity, according to the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE-2009) and by size as defined by the number of employed persons.
    It has been necessary to design independent samples for the different divisions and groupings of Autonomous Communities; stratified sampling has been used, compiling the strata based on the number of employed persons

  • 18.2Frequency of data collection

    Data collection is biannual.

    For reference year t, the collection is carried out from September to December of year t+1.

  • 18.3Data collection

    There is a single questionnaire per researched scope (one for the services and construction sectors and another for industry) whose sections shall be completed by the respondent unit with the quantities generated in each category of waste. The quantities shall be recorded in kilograms.

    
    Information collection is performed by mailing the questionnaire by post and telephone support. Respondents are also offered the possibility of completing the questionnaire online and by fax. The questionnaire is sent to all businesses in the sample. Together with the questionnaire, in each submission the respondent units receive the rules for the completion of the questionnaire, including waste classifications SCO and LOW.

    
    The collection tasks are supplemented by telephoning those businesses that have not returned the questionnaire by the deadline, for the purpose of requesting the information, advising them if necessary and obtaining the completed questionnaire. Support tasks for the collection are also carried out, such as updates to the directory, and the control and revision of the questionnaires.

  • 18.4Data validation

    Firstly, atypical data is controlled based on the appropriate ratios. After re-contacting the respondents, the data that is finally confirmed is applied the standard statistical control techniques for atypical data. The interannual variations are analysed at microdata level and at generated waste level in a specific scope of the CNAE (division, class or group). The corresponding re-call processes are carried out. Where possible, the estimates obtained are compared with the data coming from external sources and the causes for the possible disparities are researched in order to carry out the necessary adjustments.

    
    Information coverage procedures are carried out in order to detect duplicates and coverage errors and carry out a first assessment of the quality of the variables included in the questionnaires.

  • 18.5Data compilation

    Once the microdata file is available, errors and inconsistencies are detected in the identification variables of each record and different phases of content error filtering and imputation are carried out (partial non-response). Subsequently, the tables that allow detecting and analysing errors and inconsistencies are compiled.

  • 18.6Adjustment

    No seasonal adjustments are made

• 19Comment
  • 19.1Comment

    -