Panel 1
Gabriella Aragona, Lucia Muto
The indicator measures the amount of special waste imported for recovery in production activities. In 2022, the special waste imported into Italy amounted to approximately 6.9 million tons, consisting almost entirely of non-hazardous waste (98.5%). Hazardous waste accounted for only 106,000 tons (1.5% of total imports). The largest quantity came from Germany, about 1.8 million tons (26.1% of total imports), consisting almost entirely of non-hazardous waste (hazardous waste amounted to just 4,650 tons), predominantly metallic waste. France followed, with over 1 million tons (15.6% of the total), also mainly consisting of metallic waste.
The indicator provides information on the types of waste imported into the national territory, specifying the country of origin and the destination region.
To analyze the types of waste imported for recovery in production activities.
-
Basel Convention (March 22, 1989) on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous waste and their disposal, with subsequent amendments.
-
OECD Decision C(2001)107 on the control of transboundary movements of waste intended for recovery.
-
Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 and amendments, governing waste shipments between EU Member States, including through third countries.
-
Regulation (EC) No. 1418/2007 and amendments, concerning the export of certain waste for recovery to countries not subject to the OECD Decision.
There are no specific targets set by the regulations.
Panel 2
ISPRA - Rapporto Rifiuti Speciali Edizione 2024
Data quality assessment
ISPRA – Special Waste Report 2024 Edition
ISPRA, Banca dati MUD, non accessibile al pubblico
National, Regional
2010-2022
Indicator assessment
The quantities of imported special waste are analyzed by individual EWC (European Waste Catalogue) code, by country of origin, and by destination region.
The special waste imported into Italy in 2022, totaling approximately 6.9 million tons, consisted almost entirely of non-hazardous waste (98.5%). Hazardous waste accounted for only 106,000 tons (1.5% of total imports). About 76.4% of imported waste (approximately 5.3 million tons) consisted of metallic waste, which is recovered within the production cycle of metallurgical industries. This is considered a positive indicator, as it reduces the use of raw materials.
The positive trend observed in previous years continued in 2022, with a 40% increase in imported waste between 2010 and 2022 (Table 1).
Data
Table 1: Special waste imported into Italy
ISPRA
Table 2: Special waste imported by country of origin
ISPRA
Table 3: Waste imported by region of destination (2022)
ISPRA
Figure 1: Special waste imported by country of origin (2022)
ISPRA
Figure 2: Non-hazardous special waste imported by European Waste Catalogue chapter, 2022
ISPRA
Figure 3: Hazardous special waste imported by European Waste Catalogue chapter, 2022
ISPRA
The total amount of special waste imported into Italy in 2022 was approximately 6.9 million tons. The largest quantity came from Germany, with around 1.8 million tons, consisting almost entirely of non-hazardous waste (hazardous waste amounted to only 4,650 tons), predominantly metallic in nature (Table 2 and Figure 1).
Lombardy is the leading region for waste imports, with 3.3 million tons (48.5% of the total), mainly consisting of metallic waste. This aligns with the region’s industrial focus on metallurgy and steel production (Table 3). Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto follow, accounting for 28.1% and 11.7% of total imports, respectively. In these regions as well, imports consist almost entirely of metallic waste, which is reused in production cycles.
Construction and demolition waste accounts for 36.2% of total non-hazardous waste imports (2.4 million tons) (Figure 2). The largest category of non-hazardous imported waste (42%, or 2.8 million tons) consists of “waste from waste treatment facilities,” with a predominance of “ferrous metals,” “wood,” and “iron and steel shavings.” The significant import of scrap metal is further confirmed by the high percentage of “waste from metal and plastic processing and treatment” (17.3%), which is mostly metallic.
Regarding hazardous special waste, “waste from thermal processes” represents the largest imported category, accounting for 67% (Figure 3).