A new study released by the Umweltbundesamt, the Austrian federal environment agency, provides an overview of the treatment of mixed household and industrial wastes in Austria from 2003 to 2007.
Material flows and capacities of the mechanical, mechanical-biological and thermal waste treatment plants as well as their interaction were analysed in compiling the paper. In 2007 the 17 plants for mechanical-biological waste treatment (MBWTs) and the nine waste incineration plants all ran at practically full capacity. However, the 24 mechanical waste treatment plants did have some free capacity.
The greatest input for all three waste treatment systems was provided by the mixed household and industrial waste category: for mechanical waste treatment plants it represented around 60 per cent, for the mechanical-biological waste treatment it was 72 per cent and for the waste incineration plants the mixed household and industrial waste comprised approximately 52 per cent of all treated waste.
The majority of the waste destined for the treatment plants is delivered by companies that either generate or collect it, according to the Umweltbundesamt, the federal environment agency.