Frost: Euro Hazardous Waste Management a Growing Market

July 28, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

While that represents only a small percent of the total waste generated, its toxicity, environmental impact, and the technical/infrastructure expertise needed to handle it have made hazardous waste a cause of concern.

Analysts said most of the European countries have government agencies that take care of issues related to hazardous waste.

These same groups are also responsible for the development and implementation of policies related to hazardous waste.

Western Europe has a well-developed hazardous waste management services market, which was valued at $8.10 billion in 2007.

"Waste management, especially hazardous waste, has always been given its share of importance in Europe," said Frost & Sullivan research associate Karthikeyan Ravikumar.

"The changes made to the definition of hazardous waste in the 'European Waste Catalogue' seem to have benefited the hazardous waste treatment market. It has widened the definition of hazardous waste, thereby adding waste such as contaminated soil to the list of hazardous waste. This has considerably increased the hazardous waste volumes entering the treatment market."

Ravikumar said the implementation of the landfill directive in June 2002 also had a huge impact on alternate treatment techniques. It diverts waste previously disposed of in landfills to alternate treatment techniques, such as thermal treatment, physical/chemical treatment, stabilization and recycling. This directive helped alternate treatment techniques, especially in the recycling sector.

The hazardous waste management services market is an important economic factor in Germany, analysts said, with more than 1,000,000 employees in the sector in 2007 generating revenues exceeding $2 billion. The total volume of hazardous waste treated in Germany amounts to approximately 11 million metric tons in 2007.

"Well-developed policies, legislation and infrastructure have made Germany one of the dominant players in the European hazardous waste market," said Ravikumar. "Strong infrastructure has further made Germany a key destination for hazardous waste in Europe.

"Increased waste generation, stringent laws and inadequate treatment facilities in other European countries, especially the developing Eastern European countries, has resulted in the export of waste to Germany. This trend is expected to continue because of the strong industrial growth witnessed in some Eastern European countries and some major market players are looking at those countries as growth markets for the future."

The U.K. and Republic of Ireland hazardous waste management services is the second largest market with a value of $1.10 billion in 2007. Analysts said this market has historically relied upon landfill as a source of cheap and widely available waste disposal method. This reliance has effectively been changed with the implementation of the landfill directive, which came into effect in 2004.

As a result, analysts said a drift away from landfills toward alternate treatment techniques, such as recycling and physical/chemical treatment of hazardous waste, is the order of the day. This is a common trend observed all over Europe.

The historic decision of the French authorities to focus on incineration and valorization as the ultimate methods of disposal for hazardous wastes made thermal treatment the most favored technique in France. Analysts said the French hazardous waste management services market is the third largest in Europe, with a value of $909 million in 2007.

France emerged as a major treatment center and import destination for hazardous waste from other European countries that lack the required infrastructure, especially thermal treatment. Analysts said fewer restrictions on the import of waste assisted by available capacity has made France a favorite destination for treatment and final disposal.

Italy, Iberia, Benelux, Alpine and Scandinavia are other major markets in Europe. Analysts said the West European hazardous waste management services market, which has reached maturity in many countries, is expected to experience stable growth over the next seven years.

Source: Frost & Sullivan.