The Hungarian Waste Management Federation (Hulladékgazdálkodók Országos Szövetsége, HOSZ) is a national professional consulting and interest representing non-profit public benefit organisation. The federation is based on the voluntary partnership of companies, entrepreneurs, organisations and experts, who work in the area of waste management. 

The organisation was established in 1991 under the name of National Association of Secondary Raw Material Recyclers (Másodnyersanyag Hasznosítók Országos Egyesülete, MOE) and its name changed to National Association of Recyclers (Hulladékhasznosítók Országos Egyesülete, HOE) in 1995. Since December 2015 we have continued our activities under the name of Hungarian Waste Management Federation. The latter change became necessary due to a new requirement under Hungarian legislation, but we are continuing to provide our member companies and partners with the same high quality services as in the previous years.

The federation with its currently 65 members representing a significant proportion of the Hungarian recycling industry — including the major waste traders in Hungary — from all the parts of the country. Its members include companies involved in the collection, pre-treatment, and recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals, recovered paper, waste plastics, waste glass, tyre waste, and waste electrical and electronic equipment and the trading of those recyclables. The membership of the federation includes private companies, companies which are indirectly in the majority ownership of the State or a local government, and waste management public service providers. We are proud that the market share of our members in the domestic trading and recycling of recyclables is more than 80%. 

Members perform their activities within the following organisational units:

• Ferrous and Non-ferrous Scrap Metal Section
• Waste Plastics Section
• Recovered Paper Section
• Hazardous Waste Section
• Fly Ash and Mining Waste Section
• WEEE Section
• Resource Management Section
• Major Traders’ Club which holds meetings regularly

The core mission of the federation is to promote the highest possible rate of recycling of the waste generated and to thereby decrease the environmental pollution caused by waste and conserve resources by supplying the industry with secondary raw materials.

Activitites of the federation

• Taking part in the policy-making process through giving professional opinion on Hungarian and EU draft legislation related to waste management
• Elaborating analyses and background studies to draft legislation and other programmes concerning waste management
• Membership at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR, yearly membership fee: EUR 1100), the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC), and within that the European Metal Trade and Recycling Federation (EUROMETREC, yearly membership fee: EUR 3500) and the European Recovered Paper Association (ERPA, yearly membership fee: EUR 3000) and continuous and mutual exchange of information between HOSZ and the umbrella organisations
• Providing members with information on changes to Hungarian and EU legislation, calls for applications, business opportunities, events and news related to waste management and the market of different wastes on a regular basis
• Owning and publishing the nationwide professional waste management magazine Green Industry Magazine (ZIP), and running its online version, www.zipmagazin.hu
• Holding conferences which promote recovery and recycling; participating and presenting at waste management conferences in Hungary and abroad
• Providing the citizens, public institutions and companies with information on issues related to waste management and helping institutions and companies set up separate waste collection systems
• Since its establishment, HOSZ has made significant efforts in the interest of, environmental awareness-raising and education, which it wishes to foster with professional trainings, conferences, and publications. The federation regularly organises the following training courses: training course providing the qualification of scrap and waste purchaser and scrap yard operator (code under the National Register of Vocational Qualifications OKJ: 32 851 01), training course for detecting explosive devices of military purpose. HOSZ also organiseslanguage courses (English for environmental protection) for all levels.

Services provided by the federation

• “Heti Szakmai Értesítő”: weekly electronic newsletter for our members covering the following topics: news of the federation, important changes to Hungarian legislation affecting members, draft items of legislation on which public consultation is launched, business opportunities, market reports,  waste management events in Hungary and abroad, news related to waste management from the national and international press. In this newsletter we also summarise information received electronically from, and learned at the meetings of BIR, EuRIC, EUROMETREC, and ERPA, and any other information on EU legislation. The most important topical issues include the development of EU end-of-waste criteria and the European Commission’s Circular Economy package.
• We can, on a regular basis and according to our clients’ needs, collect and provide price information on waste types the prices of which follow the changing world market prices.
• One free copy of the Green Industry Magazine (Zöld Ipar Magazin, ZIP) and the opportunity to advertise in the magazine at preferential rates
• Circulating draft items of legislation, draft calls for applications, and other draft documents (e.g. strategic plans such as the National Waste Management Plan) on which public consultation is launched; drawing up HOSZ position papers taking members’ comments into consideration
• Opportunity to take part in the work of the commodity sections
• Access to the members’ area of our website
• Opportunity to participate at our events and trainings at preferential rates

References of the federation

HOSZ participated among others in the development of the following expert opinions, analyses, background studies needed for draft legislation, and other professional policy documents:

• Analysis of the economically viable recycling of non-hazardous production wastes (Client: Ministry of Economy, GM)
• Impact assessment for defining the tasks arising from the transposition of European Union waste management rules, and for developing the National Waste Management Plan for the treatment of batteries  and   accumulators (Client: Ministry for Environment, KöM )
• Contributing to the preparation of the subsection of the National Waste Management Plan concerning municipal solid waste (Client: Public Sanitary Association, Köztisztasági Egyesülés)
• Preparing the subsection of the National Waste Management Plan on production and non-hazardous waste (Client: Confederation of Hungarian Employers and Industrialists, Munkaadók és Gyáriparosok  Országos Szövetsége)
• Preparing the examination analysis needed for preparing the government decree on the rules of importing waste from abroad, exporting them from the country and transporting them through the country (Client: Ministry for Environment, KöM )
• Preparing the study needed for introducing Council Directive 91/157/EEC on batteries and accumulators containing certain dangerous substances in Hungary (Client: Ministry for Environment, KöM)
• Preparing a feasibility study for the recycling of mixed and/or contaminated waste plastics (Client: Ministry for Environment, KöM)
• Situation of the treatment of red sludge in Hungary (Client: Ministry for Environment, KöM)
• Preparing a feasibility study on collecting and recycling waste glass (Client: Ministry for Environment, KöM )
• Preparing a background study for introducing in Hungary Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end-of-life vehicles (Client: TÜV Hannover)
• Feasibility study on recycling metallurgical slags (Client: Ministry for Environment, KöM )
• Elaborating an action plan connected to the establishment of the market of recyclables (Client: Ministry for Environment, KöM )
• Preliminary study on recycling, packaging materials and certain issues of separate waste collection (Client: waste management company of Budapest FKF Rt.)
• National collection and treatment system of end-of-life vehicles (Client: Association of the Hungarian Automotive Industry, Magyar Gépjárműipari Szövetség)
• National system for the recycling of end-of-life vehicles with no identifiable producer (Client: Ministry of Environment and Water, KvVM)
• Waste management in Budapest, 1998-2002 (Client: waste management company of Budapest FKF Rt.)
• Regional Waste Management Plan (Client: Middle - Danube - Valley Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, Közép-Duna-völgyi Környezetvédelmi Felügyelőség)
• National programme for separate waste collection (Client: Ministry of Environment and Water, KvVM)
• National level programme for recycling industrial hazardous and non-hazardous wastes (Client: Ministry of Environment and Water, KvVM)
• Legislation on certain waste management activities connected to non-hazardous wastes (Client: Ministry of Environment and Water, KvVM)

Making presentations at conferences, discussion fora, seminars and symposiums organised by among others the following organisations, institutions:

• CoSignum Eco-Innovation Ltd. (CoSignum Öko-Innovációs Kft.)
• Scientific Society for Mechanical Engineering (Gépipari Tudományos Egyesület)
• ICM AG
• IFKA Public Benefit Non-Profit Ltd. (IFKA Iparfejlesztési Kh. Nonprofit Kft.)
• Association of Environmental Enterprises (Környezetvédelmi Szolgáltatók és Gyártók Szövetsége)
• Federation of Technical and Scientific Societies (Műszaki és Természettudományi Egyesületek Szövetsége)
• Sanoma Media Budapest Zrt.

Our partners

• Association of Scrap Metal Traders and Processing Companies of Hungary (Fémszövetség)
• Association of Environmental Enterprises (Környezetvédelmi Szolgáltatók és Gyártók Szövetsége)
• Merida Press Ltd. (Merida Press Kft.)
• Volán Professional Association (Volán Egyesülés)
• Italos Karton Környezetvédelmi Szolgáltató Egyesülés (association promoting the separate collection and recycling of beverage cartons in Hungary)

Our contact details

Hungarian Waste Management Federation (HOSZ)

1088 Budapest, Vas u. 12. II./2., Hungary
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel.: 00 36 1 4221428
Website: www.hosz.org