Waste from economic activity

National statistical instutute

"Environmental and Energy accounts" Department

Petar Petrov

State expert

2 Panayot Volov St., 1038 Sofia

[email protected]

+359 2 9857 499

Not applicable.

Data on waste from economic activities include the quantities of waste generated in total on the territory of the country, of which waste is sent for treatment (recovery and disposal), and the quantities of waste exported outside the country. The data cover waste from all economic activities, according to the Classification of Economic Activities (NACE-rev.2), and by type of waste, divided into categories (hazardous and non-hazardous). Data on waste from economic activities are the result of a statistical survey "Waste from Economic Activities", conducted by the National Statistical Institute, and administrative data from the Executive Environment Agency.

Waste classification:

-          European classification of waste for statistical purposes

-          Ordinance No. 2 on waste classification, published in the Official Gazette, issue 66/08.08.2014

-          Treatment activities defined on the basis of Directive 2008/98/EU on waste

-          Classification of economic activities (NACE Rev. 2008)

The statistical survey covers enterprises from all economic activities.

"Waste" is any substance or object which the holder discards or intends to discard or is required to discard (Article 3(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC on waste).

The following hierarchy of wastes (Article 4(1) of the same Directive) shall apply as a priority in legislation and policy on waste prevention and management:

a) prevention;

b) preparation for re-use;

c) recycling;

d) other recovery, such as energy recovery;

e) disposal.

"Prevention" means measures taken before a substance, material or product becomes waste.

"Reuse" means any operation by which products or components which are not waste are reused for the purpose for which they were intended.

“Recycling” is any recovery operation by which waste materials are processed into products, materials or substances for their original purpose or for other purposes. It includes the processing of organic materials, but does not include recovery for energy and processing into materials to be used as fuels or for bulking operations.

“Recovery” is any operation which has as its main result the use of waste for a useful purpose by replacing other materials that would otherwise be used to perform a specific function, or the preparation of waste to perform that function in a manufacturing plant or in the economy as a whole.

“Disposal” is any operation which is not recovery, even when the operation has as a secondary consequence the recovery of substances or energy.

Definitions and definitions are used in accordance with the applicable legislation – Waste Statistics Regulation, Waste Management Act

The statistical unit is an enterprise.

The statistical population is made up from Statistical Business Register complies with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 2150/2002 on waste statistics, according to which enterprises with fewer than 10 employees are excluded from the surveys, unless they generate large quantities of waste, in order to reduce the burden of the respondents. An estimate is made for enterprises with less than 10 employees.

The list of statistical units, included in the statistical population for the study, is prepared as:

-          For the economic activities other than services, a comprehensive list of enterprises with more than 10 employees is drawn up;

-          For services: NACE Rev.2 sections: G_U (45-99) except class 4677, simple random samples are selected due to the large number of business enterprises. 

Total for the country.

2018-2022

Not applicable.

-       - Statistical survey "Waste from economic activity"

-       - Administrative sources (ExЕА)

Information from other statistical surveys (business statistics) is also used to define the general population, verify data and make evaluations.

Annually

Data are collected from respondents (statistical units) on:

-          Waste generated from own activities (balance),

-          Foreign waste disposed of in the enterprise (from other producers in the country and abroad),

-          Foreign waste recovered in the enterprise (from other producers in the country and abroad),

-          Data on land, machinery and fishing,

-          Data for determining the amount of animal manure generated.

Data validation is part of the activities to ensure the quality of statistical information. Primary data are validated in terms of completeness, correct classification, units of measurement, comparability with previous years, comparability with data from other statistical areas and/or administrative sources, logical control, etc. Statistical data are validated in terms of their comparability, accuracy, reliability, etc., in accordance with the quality criteria according to the Statistics Act.

Data processing is carried out by strictly applying the survey methodology and data verification methods.

Data processing includes the actions by which, based on the primary data, brought into an appropriate form, statistical data are calculated, using specialized software products for this purpose.

Not applicable.

TThe quality of the data is ensured by applying the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and the Common Framework for Quality Management in the National Statistical System, including through the application of the internal methodology "Statistics and Environmental Accounts, developed by the NSI.

The quality assurance activities guarantee compliance with the requirements of the Statistics Act in terms of quality criteria: adequacy, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility and clarity, comparability and logical coherence. They also ensure the application of the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice: sound methodology; appropriate statistical procedures; moderate burden on respondents; cost-effectiveness; applicability; accuracy; timeliness and accuracy of presentation; comparability and coherence; accessibility and clarity.

The quality assessment is carried out at each stage of the statistical production process, in accordance with the Common Framework for Quality Management in the NSS and the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice. It includes statistical processes and statistical information. The requirements of the current methodological documents are applied for quality assessment, including the instructions in the internal methodology "Statistics and Environmental Accounts", developed by the NSI.

To ensure high quality of the data, their consistency with data from the annual reports on the activities of enterprises is checked (net sales revenue, production revenue, revenue from industrial services, incl. from services for the production of goods, employee). For the needs of the additional statistical assessment, the statistical indicator "Production revenue" is used. In order to ensure the quality of the data, work is also being done to continuously improve the online-based information system for collecting primary data, providing the possibility of arithmetic and logical control of the input data, and additional analyses and checks are being carried out.

Data on waste from economic activity are essential for monitoring waste policies in the European Union, including the implementation of the European Green Deal and the circular economy principle.

The main users of statistical information from the survey are state and municipal structures, scientific institutes, associations, companies and citizens.

The NSI conducts a regular statistical survey "User satisfaction with the statistical information products and services provided", which covers all statistical areas. It aims to assess user satisfaction with the statistical information provided by the NSI and to define recommendations for the future development of the statistical system in accordance with user needs.

The data complies with the requirements of the applicable legislation in terms of coverage and observable indicators.

All statistics data are available.

Data accuracy, as one of the criteria for the quality of statistical information, according to the Statistics Act, is guaranteed through quality assurance activities within the statistical production process.

The sample estimate is subject to error. To assess the stochastic accuracy of the survey results, coefficients of variation (relative standard errors) and confidence intervals (the range of values ​​that in 95% of cases contain the true value of the indicator in the general population) are calculated for the main indicators, i.e. the estimated total value of the amount of waste generated is in the middle of the confidence interval.

Not applicable. 

The survey may contain non-sampling errors that occur at different stages of the survey and that cannot be completely eliminated.

The main reasons for non-response are, on the one hand, the lack of an up-to-date survey framework at the time of sample formation (e.g., enterprises that have been restructured, closed or have ceased operations in the reporting period) and, on the other hand, refusal to participate in the survey or failure to contact. In order to reduce non-sampling errors, the following is carried out:

-          • Updating the lists of monitored enterprises;

-          • Developing a clear survey toolkit, continuously supplementing and updating it;

-          • Conducting regular training seminars for TSB experts;

-          • Assistance to respondents and TSB experts from the survey team at the NSI;

-          • Data control at the stage of collection, entry and processing.

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

The relative share of non-responding enterprises in the 2023 survey is 15%

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

A statistical evaluation of the industries with more than 10 and more employed is carried out by means of a sample. A statistical assessment is made of the enterprises from the branches with 9 and fewer employees.

Not applicable. 

Not applicable.

In accordance with the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and the requirements of the internal rules/integrated management system, statistical processes are regularly monitored and revised as necessary. Revisions are carried out according to standard, established and transparent procedures and are regularly analysed with the aim of improving data sources, statistical processes and products.

The data is revised upon change in regulatory requirements, the applied methodology, or when necessary.

Not applicable (no preliminary data published).

The data are published 18  months after the reporting year.

Not applicable. 

Not applicable. 

The data are published according to the deadlines in the Calendar for the dissemination of the results of the statistical surveys of the NSI.

Not applicable.

Data is compiled at the national level. Given the application of common definitions and classifications, the data are comparable with other EU countries.

Not applicable.

The data are comparable over time. Time series are available from 2018 (from 2004 in INFOSTAT).

When the methodology changes, the data in the time series is revised.

2018-2022г.

The data are coordinated with:

- Data from the annual reports on the activities of enterprises (net sales revenue, production revenue, revenue from industrial services, incl. from services for the production of goods, employed persons).

For the needs of the additional statistical assessment, the statistical indicator "Production revenue" is used.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The data have a high degree of internal consistency. The quality assessment procedure checks the consistency of the primary and statistical data by number, weight and economic activities, of the aggregated and detailed data.

Regular press release on the NSI website

-          Statistical Yearbook

-          Statistical Reference Book

-          Electronic Publication "Environment"

-          Brochure "Bulgaria"

Data on underground reserves are available on the NSI website in:

-          Section "Environment"

-          Infostat system.

Not applicable. 

Individual anonymized data may be provided for scientific and research purposes, in accordance with the Rules for Provision of Anonymised Individual Data for Scientific and Research Purposes of the NSI.

Information service on request, according to the Rules for Dissemination of Statistical Products and Services of the NSI.

Not applicable. 

-          Manual on waste statistics - Manual on data collection on waste generation and treatment - 2013 edition

-          Guide to waste classification according to EWC-Stat categories

-          Internal methodology "Environmental statistics and accounts"

Not applicable. 

-          European Statistics Code of Practice

-          Integrated management system in the NSI

-          General model of the statistical production process in the NSI

-          Handbook on Internal Quality Audit in the NSI

-          Internal methodology "Environmental Statistics and Accounts"

Quality report  is published annually with the publication of statistical data.

The costs (budget) for statistical surveys are disclosed in the National Statistical Program, published on the NSI website.

Reducing the burden on respondents is a priority in conducting statistical surveys. In this regard, actions are being taken to alleviate the burden, for example: collecting and checking primary data through the online-based information system "Environmental Statistics", containing strict arithmetic and logical controls; improving the instructions for filling in survey forms; providing methodological and technical assistance; continuously exploring the possibilities for using information from administrative and other sources; conducting annual training for respondents and NSI experts, etc.

The time needed to fill in the statistical forms is used as the main measure of the burden on respondents. For this purpose, a section is included in each form that respondents must fill in, regarding the time needed to fill in the form (including the time for data preparation). Based on this information and given the specifics of the study, the workload of the respondents can be determined as relatively high. The overall workload of the responsible experts is determined as high, especially in cases of revisions of data from previous reporting periods.

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics provides for the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and access to such confidential data, with due regard to technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

The Statistics Act (Art. 25, para. 1) stipulates that individual data received and collected in statistical surveys are statistical secrets and may be used only for statistical purposes

According to Art. 25 of the Statistics Act, individual data shall not be disclosed or provided. The provision of individual data is possible only according to Art. 26 of the Statistics Act.