The floods in eastern Austria in September not only caused suffering and enormous damage to a large number of people, but also resulted in a waste backlog of 80,000 tonnes to date. Austria’s largest waste incineration plant in Dürnrohr, Lower Austria (Tulln district) was idle for months – with far-reaching consequences.
The consequences will be felt for a longer time, the Association of Austrian Waste Management Companies (VOEB) announced in a press release on Monday. “We are currently dealing with a historic waste backlog,” says VOEB chairman Gabriele Jüly.
Installation out of service for two months
In the severely damaged plant in Dürnrohr, approximately 1,400 tons of residual waste from household and commercial waste could not be thermally recycled – i.e. incinerated – as usual for two months. In addition to these quantities, another 50,000 tons of bulky waste was caused by the flooding. Partial operations in Dürnrohr resumed in mid-November.
“The waste management chain throughout Austria has been massively interrupted by the flood and presents us with enormous challenges that will accompany us in the coming years,” said Jüly. “All affected companies in the waste and raw materials sector are working at full speed to address the bottleneck, but it will take a long time before the backlog is cleared,” the press release said.
Residual waste is temporarily stored, transported to further waste incineration plants and sometimes even exported. “The additional time and financial effort required to set up interim storage facilities, long transport routes and complex export notifications is enormous,” it was noted. According to the chairman of the VOEB, disposal safety for citizens is not affected.
No relaxation in sight yet
“Many of our businesses are still forced to shred, bale, wrap and temporarily store thermally useful construction site, industrial and commercial waste with significant effort until it can be thermally recycled. “Other waste incinerators in Austria also have limited capacity and are currently unable to process all the additional waste produced,” reports Jüly.
Bottlenecks also in western Austria and neighboring countries
Some neighboring countries of Austria have also been hit by heavy storms or are reaching their capacity limits, according to the publication. For example, Italian waste is now supplied to Switzerland using capabilities previously used by domestic companies. Western Austria is also affected by bottlenecks in the thermal recycling of residual waste and additional costs.
Keep your eyes open when separating waste
The VOEB continued to ask the population to be lenient and to deal with waste conscientiously. “Careful waste separation is more important than ever in the current situation. On the one hand, valuable waste materials such as plastic, glass or paper can be recycled, on the other hand, waste separation reduces the amount of residual waste that has to be incinerated,” it was emphasized.
Source: Krone
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