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

1

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.



2

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



3

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.



4

• 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



5

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



6

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:



7

Source 4:



8

Source 6:



9



10

Source 7:

Fact Sheet 8 Companies and operators v2 Sheet … · recovery and recycling sector in EU25,...

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