69 Components of the FDES and the Basic Set of Environment Statistics 69 Topic 3.2.2: Collection and treatment of wastewater 3.175. Wastewater may be discharged directly to the environment by the generator or may be collected in sewerage systems and treated in wastewater treatment plants (urban, industrial or other). This topic can include statistics describing (i) volumes of wastewater collected and trans ported to its final place of discharge or treatment facilities, (ii) volume of wastewater treated by type of treatment (primary, secondary and tertiary), (iii) physical infrastructure related to wastewater collection and treatment (e.g., number of treatment plants and capacities of plants), (iv) pollutant content extracted in the treatment facilities and (v) other relevant information. 3.176. Establishments that collect and treat wastewater are grouped under ISIC Rev.4, Section E, Division 37 Sewerage. Table 3.3.2.2 Statistics and related information for Topic 3.2.2 Component 3: Residuals Subcomponent 3.2: Generation and Management of Wastewater Topic 3.2.2: Collection and treatment of wastewater Statistics and related information Category of measurement Potential aggregations and scales Methodological guidance (Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1; regular text—Tier 2; italicized text—Tier 3) a. Volume of wastewater collected Volume •• National •• Subnational •• UNSD: IRWS •• ISIC Rev. 4, Section E, Division 35 and 36 •• UNSD: Environment Statistics Section— Water Questionnaire b. Volume of wastewater treated Volume •• By treatment type (e.g., primary, secondary, tertiary) •• National •• Subnational c. Total urban wastewater treatment capacity
- Number of plants Number
- Capacity of plants Volume d. Total industrial wastewater treatment capacity
- Number of plants Number
- Capacity of plants Volume Topic 3.2.3: Discharge of wastewater to the environment 3.177. This topic captures information at the stage of final discharge of wastewater to the environment. It includes (i) volume of wastewater discharged to the environment without treatment; (ii) volume of wastewater discharged to the environment after treatment, by type of treatment (primary, secondary and tertiary) and type of treatment facility (public, private, municipal, industrial); and (iii) effluent quality. 3.178. Statistics on the volume of wastewater discharged after treatment can be obtained from administrative records of the treatment plants. Statistics on the volume of wastewater released without treatment can be obtained from economic units and records of sewerage companies or estimated on the basis of water use. The volume of discharged wastewater should also be disaggregated by recipient water body. 3.179. In addition to the volume of wastewater returned to the environment, it is also impor tant to measure or estimate the volumes of different pollutants emitted with the wastewater or otherwise released to water bodies. Emissions to water are the substances released to water resources by establishments and households as a result of production, consumption and accu mulation processes. Emissions to water should be disaggregated according to the releasing economic activities and should cover the most important substances.
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 70 Table 3.3.2.3 Statistics and related information for Topic 3.2.3 Component 3: Residuals Subcomponent 3.2: Generation and Management of Wastewater Topic 3.2.3: Discharge of wastewater to the environment Statistics and related information Category of measurement Potential aggregations and scales Methodological guidance (Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1; regular text—Tier 2; italicized text—Tier 3) a. Wastewater discharge •• By treatment type (e.g., primary, secondary, tertiary) •• By recipient (e.g., surface water, groundwater, wetland, sea, land) •• By ISIC economic activity •• National •• Subnational •• By source (point/non-point source) •• UNSD: IRWS •• ISIC Rev. 4, Section E, Division 35 and 36 •• UNSD: Environment Statistics Section—Water Questionnaire
- Total volume of wastewater discharged to the environment after treatment Volume
- Total volume of wastewater discharged to the environment without treatment Volume b. Pollutant content of discharged wastewater Mass •• By pollutant or pollution parameter (e.g., BOD, COD, nitrogen, phosphorous) •• National •• Subnational •• Net emission by ISIC economic activity •• By source (point/non-point source) Subcomponent 3.3: Generation and Management of Waste 3.180. This subcomponent includes statistics on the amount and characteristics of waste, defined as discarded material for which the owner or user has no further use, generated by human activities in the course of production and consumption processes. To reduce the amount of waste generated and increase the share of waste that is recycled and reused as material or energy source are central to sustainable consumption and production and natural resource management. The final disposal of waste in the environment, even if in a controlled manner, creates pollution and occupies considerable land areas. 3.181. Relevant statistics cover the amount of waste generated by different sources that are economic activities (by ISIC categories) and households. Waste can also be classified based on its material content or other characteristics. Waste is usually collected at the place of genera tion and transported to treatment facilities (for recycling and reuse or to reduce its amount or hazardousness before final disposal) and to disposal facilities (for final disposal). 3.182. Policymakers, particularly local governments, require statistics on waste in order to assess how its generation changes over time. This in turn assists in planning for present and future waste management in terms of transportation and facilities required. Statistics on waste are also needed to develop strategies to encourage waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Topic 3.3.1: Generation of waste 3.183. This topic includes statistics describing the amount of waste generated before any col lection or treatment, by waste type, and by generator (by economic activity (by ISIC) and households). The waste lists that countries and international organizations use for waste statis tics are usually based either on the generating process or the material content of the waste, or on the combination of the two. In many cases, the origin of the waste (the economic activity) generally determines the material content of the waste. 3.184. Ideally, statistics on the amount and type of waste generated should be reported by the establishments (economic units) that generate it. However, in practice these statistics are usu
71 Components of the FDES and the Basic Set of Environment Statistics 71 ally estimated from the records of the economic units engaged in waste collection, treatment and disposal. The broad waste categories frequently used in waste statistics, such as municipal, industrial and hazardous waste, combine many waste materials into categories based on the similarity of their collection, treatment and disposal. The amount of waste generated can be estimated with high reliability when the waste management system is well developed and cov ers all waste. 3.185. Hazardous waste is a special group of waste that, due to its toxic or other hazard ous character, requires special management and is controlled by law in many countries. The Basel Convention, an MEA, focuses on the control of transboundary movements of hazard ous waste across international borders and establishes criteria for the environmentally sound management of such waste. Reporting needs under this convention include the generation of hazardous waste, as well as the imports and exports of hazardous waste covered in Topic 3.3.2: Management of Waste. For additional information, see Annex C: Multilateral Environmental Agreements. 3.186. Depending on their priorities and availability of resources, rather than estimate the total amount of waste generation, countries may prefer to focus on certain waste types that are important to them. Such types of waste may be selected either because they are recyclable or reusable and thus constitute a resource (e.g., paper, glass or metal waste), or because their vol ume or hazard level creates a specific problem for treatment and disposal. An important aspect of data collection on waste (by type of waste) is food waste. Approximately one-third of food produced globally is lost or wasted.65 This represents a large portion of the environmental costs of agriculture production. Countries may also wish to estimate the amount of waste generated by specific sectors or population groups, such as tourists. 65 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2011). Global food losses and food waste: extent, causes and prevention, available from www.fao.org/docrep/014/ mb060e/mb060e00.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017). Table 3.3.3.1 Statistics and related information for Topic 3.3.1 Component 3: Residuals Subcomponent 3.3: Generation and Management of Waste Topic 3.3.1: Generation of waste Statistics and related information Category of measurement Potential aggregations and scales Methodological guidance (Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1; regular text—Tier 2; italicized text—Tier 3) a. Amount of waste generated by source Mass •• By ISIC economic activity •• By households •• By tourists •• National •• Subnational •• European Commission: European List of Waste, pursuant to Euro pean Waste Framework Directive •• Eurostat: Environmental Data Centre on Waste •• Eurostat: European Waste Classification for Statistics (EWC-Stat), version 4 (Waste categories) •• Basel Convention: Waste categories and hazardous characteristics •• Eurostat: Manual on Waste Statistics •• Eurostat: Guidance on classification of waste according to EWC- Stat categories •• SEEA Central Framework (2012) •• UNSD: Environment Statistics Section—Waste Questionnaire b. Amount of waste generated by waste category Mass •• By waste category (e.g., chemical waste, municipal waste, food waste, combustion waste) •• National •• Subnational c. Amount of hazardous waste generated Mass •• By ISIC economic activity •• National •• Subnational
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013) 72 Topic 3.3.2: Management of waste 3.187. This topic includes statistics on (i) the amount of waste collected and transported to treatment facilities or final disposal (ii) the amount of waste treated and disposed of by type of treatment and disposal (e.g., reuse, recycling, composting, incineration, landfilling, other) (iii) the physical infrastructure for waste treatment and disposal, including the number and capacity of treatment and disposal plants and (iv) other relevant information. 3.188. Relevant statistics will come from the records of the economic units engaged in waste management that fall under ISIC Rev. 4, Section E, Division 38 Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery. Waste collection systems, and treatment and disposal facilities may be operated by public or private companies that provide the service for the waste generator and keep records of the relevant transactions. However, some industrial establish ments may perform part or all of these activities themselves. Table 3.3.3.2 Statistics and related information for Topic 3.3.2 Component 3: Residuals Subcomponent 3.3: Generation and Management of Waste Topic 3.3.2: Management of waste Statistics and related information Category of measurement Potential aggregations and scales Methodological guidance (Bold text—Core Set/Tier 1; regular text—Tier 2; italicized text—Tier 3) a. Municipal waste •• By type of treatment and disposal (e.g., reuse, recycling, composting, incineration, landfilling, other) •• By type of waste, when possible •• National •• Subnational •• Eurostat: Environmental Data Centre on Waste •• Eurostat metadata: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Devel opment (OECD)/Eurostat definition of municipal waste •• UNSD: Environment Statistics Sec tion—Waste Questionnaire •• Basel Convention: Waste categories and hazardous characteristics •• Eurostat: EWC-Stat, version 4 (Waste categories) •• European Commission: European Waste Framework Directive (Waste treatment operations) •• Eurostat: Manual on Waste Statistics •• Eurostat: Guidance on classifica tion of waste according to EWC-Stat categories •• Rotterdam Convention
- Total municipal waste collected Mass
- Amount of municipal waste treated by type of treatment and disposal Mass
- Number of municipal waste treatment and disposal facilities Number
- Capacity of municipal waste treatment and disposal facilities Volume b. Hazardous waste
- Total hazardous waste collected Mass
- Amount of hazardous waste treated by type of treatment and disposal Mass
- Number of hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities Number
- Capacity of hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities Volume c. Other/industrial waste
- Total other/industrial waste collected Mass
- Amount of other/industrial waste treated by type of treatment and disposal Mass
- Number of other/industrial treatment and disposal facilities Number
- Capacity of other/industrial waste treatment and disposal facili ties Volume d. Amount of recycled waste Mass •• By specific waste streams (e.g., e-waste, packaging waste, end of life vehicles) •• By waste category •• National •• Subnational e. Imports of waste Mass •• By waste category (e.g., chemi cal waste, municipal waste, combustion waste) f. Exports of waste Mass g. Imports of hazardous waste Mass h. Exports of hazardous waste Mass