June 25

Europe collected and treated some 74.4 million tons of hazardous waste last year, according to a new study by Frost & Sullivan.

"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.

Germany was the largest market in Europe, with total hazardous waste volumes at about 12.1 million tons, according to Frost & Sullivan.

Contact Waste News senior reporter Jim Johnson at (937) 964-1289 or jpjohnson@crain.com

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