EWC Code
Garden and park wastes (including cemetery waste)
EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC — Official Journal L 226, 06/09/2000Annual Volume
30 million tonnes/year EU garden and park waste
Valorisation Range
€700M composting and green waste market
Primary Route
Composting and land application
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Get contacts for EWC 20 02EWC 20 02 covers garden and park wastes including cemetery waste. Sub-entries: 20 02 01 (biodegradable waste — grass, leaves, branches), 20 02 02 (soil and stones) and 20 02 03 (other non-biodegradable wastes — artificial flowers, plastic plant pots, wire, gravel from graves).
Garden waste is predominantly seasonal: leaf fall collection in autumn; grass clippings throughout growing season; hedge and tree trimmings from maintenance operations. Source-separate garden waste collected through kerbside bins, bring sites or civic amenity sites has high composting quality when free from plastic, glass and other contaminants. Commingled collection reduces compost quality.
Cemetery waste includes floral tributes (fresh flowers, artificial flowers, wreaths), grave soil from burial activities, grave aggregate (gravel, stones) and construction waste from gravestone works. Fresh flowers classified 20 02 01; artificial flowers and plastics classified 20 02 03. Some cemeteries operate on-site composting of biodegradable waste.
Typical Generators
Established valorisation pathways for EWC 20 02, ranked by economic value and market depth. Composting and land application is the primary route.
Source-separate green waste composted at windrow or in-vessel composting facilities. Mature compost applied to agricultural land, parks, gardens and land reclamation as soil improver. Meeting PAS 100 (UK) or equivalent national quality standard enables end-of-waste status. Processing time: 10–14 weeks windrow; 6–8 weeks in-vessel.
Wet green waste (grass clippings, vegetable garden waste) processed by anaerobic digestion to recover biogas for electricity and heat generation. Digestate applied to agricultural land. AD particularly suited to high-moisture-content green waste fractions unsuitable for dry windrow composting.
Woody garden waste (hedge trimmings, prunings, small branches) chipped for use as biomass fuel in wood chip boilers or as chipwood mulch in parks and gardens. Lower-quality chipped material co-fired with other biomass. Carbon-neutral energy recovery from wood fraction.
These are the established routes for EWC 20 02. Which one your stream qualifies for depends on its composition, volume and region.
Get the ranked options for your streamPrimary & secondary off-takers
Civic amenity sites and green waste collection points (non-hazardous operations)
Local authority collection services for kerbside garden waste bins
Agricultural recipients of garden waste compost as soil improver
Landscaping contractors generating and managing green waste from contract maintenance
Source: NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat, 2008
Key legislative frameworks governing EWC 20 02 classification, transport, and treatment.
WFD (as amended by Directive 2018/851) requires separate collection of biowaste including garden waste by 2024. Garden waste is a significant biowaste fraction contributing to national biowaste collection targets. Member States report biowaste collection and treatment rates. Separate collection enables higher quality composting.
Garden waste compost applied to agricultural land subject to Nitrates Directive application restrictions in NVZs (170 kg N/ha/yr limit from organic sources). Compost nitrogen content is lower than slurry/digestate; typical garden waste compost 1–1.5% N. Land application planning required for farm nutrient management plans.
Landfill Directive progressive targets reduce biodegradable municipal waste to landfill. Garden waste composting and AD contribute directly to biodegradable waste diversion targets. Landfill of untreated garden waste increasingly restricted in Member States that have met targets — composting remains the compliant preferred route.
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Waste-stream pages and resources connected to EWC 20 02 valorisation.
Explore EU waste flows — Waste Atlas
Visualise 17 years of E-PRTR industrial facility data. See how EWC 20 02 and related waste streams flow across European industries and sectors.
Source: EUR-Lex Commission Decision 2000/532/EC · NACE Rev.2 — Eurostat 2008
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