Survey on Waste Treatment in Enterprises

Methodological Note on the Survey on Waste Treatment in Enterprises

1. Survey profile:
The Survey on the Treatment of Waste in Enterprises was carried out for the fourth time in Cyprus during the period June – August 2011, for the reference year 2010. The previous similar surveys were held for the years 2004, 2006 and 2008.
The survey is conducted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation
(EC) No 2150/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2002 on waste statistics. The survey is fully harmonized with the definitions and methodology set out by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat).
It should be noted that part of the actions undertaken for the implementation of the survey for the reference year 2004, the data processing and analysis as well as the preparation of the Quality Report
that was submitted to Eurostat were financed by the European Commission through funds from the Transition Facility 2004.
2. Scope:
The survey aims at collecting and compiling data regarding the generation and treatment of waste in enterprises and their disaggregating according to the European Waste Catalogue (EWC).
3. Coverage:

The surveys for the reference years 2008 and 2010 cover enterprises active in the secondary sector of the economy, that is, sections B, C, D, E and F of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities NACE Rev. 2.
The previous surveys for the years 2004 and 2006 covered enterprises operating in sections C, D, E and F of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities NACE Rev. 1.1. The differences with respect to the coverage of the surveys are limited and do not affect in a substantial way
the comparability of the data.
4. Sample:
The survey is carried out on a sample basis. The business register maintained by the Statistical Service is used as the population frame. A sample is selected on the basis of the economic activity and the enterprises’ size class.
5. Data collection:

The data collection is undertaken with the filling in of the relevant paper questionnaire. For this purpose, specially trained interviewers visit the enterprises’ premises, requesting information not only on the quantities of waste generated and treated but also on the treatment facilities the enterprises may operate.
6. Definitions of terms used:
The term waste refers to every product, material or substance that does
not provide any usefulness to its generator and, therefore, there is no intention of being reused, and it is discarded or there is an intention for the waste to be discarded.
Incineration refers to the thermal treatment of waste in an incineration plant in order to reduce the volume and the hazardousness of the waste and to obtain a still product that can be disposed of. Waste may also be incinerated for energy production purposes.

Recovery refers to the treatment of waste, whose principal objective is for the waste to serve a useful purpose in replacing other materials which would have had to be used for that purpose. The temporary storage of waste or any preparatory activities are not included.
Disposal refers to the deposit of waste into or onto land, in especially engineered landfills, surface impoundment, permanent storage etc. As in the case of recovery, disposal does not include the temporary storage of
waste or any preparatory activities.

Last Updated: 25/04/2013