Circular Economy

Our Services

We advise you on all technical issues relating to the Circular Economy, taking into account the applicable legal framework, including the following services:

  • Sustainable waste management concepts for companies, countries, regions and municipalities
  • Concept development of innovative, sustainable waste treatment processes with high resource efficiency according to the state of the art (Best Available Techniques, BAT)
  • Comparison and evaluation of treatment options based on technical, ecological and economic feasibility studies
  • Optimization of industrial processes towards sustainable production, resource efficiency and high recycling rates
  • Planning support through all project phases of your waste treatment plant, from conceptual design, feasibility study, submission planning for permit application, specification of components for tendering procedures to commissioning, acceptance tests and optimization of plant operation
  • Management of contacts with authorities
  • Expert opinions on the topics of “end of waste” and “by-product”
  • Studies and reports (e.g. Whitebook on Waste-to-Energy)
The aim of modern waste management is to utilise raw materials and energy as efficiently as possible. Saving resources this way contributes to the protection of the environment and human health.
Waste Hierarchy
 
The European Union’s Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) defines the EU’s five-stage waste hierarchy, which was transposed into national law in the Austrian Waste Act (AWG 2002, Federal Law Gazette I No. 102/2002 as amended). It classifies and prioritises the possible treatment processes for waste as follows:

  1. The ultimate goal and highest level of the waste hierarchy is waste prevention, which can be achieved, for example, by extending the useful lifespan of a product.
  2. Preparation for reuse is a form of treatment that enables further use in the previous manner, for example repair.
  3. Recycling is a treatment that allows the material to be utilised in a different way than previously, e.g. the melting down of scrap metal that can be used as a secondary raw material for the production of (other) products.
  4. Other recovery is recovery that differs from (material) recycling. This includes, for example, the energy recovery of waste, i.e. its incineration with the aim of energy utilisation (“waste-to-energy”).
  5. The lowest level of the waste hierarchy is disposal, e.g. the landfilling of waste.
“Treatment” is the umbrella term for both “recovery” (R processes) and “disposal” (D processes). The top four levels of the EU waste hierarchy describe recovery processes, while the lowest level describes disposal.
Waste hierarchy of the EU Waste Framework Directive (RL2008/98/EC) (© UVP GmbH)
Circular Economy
 
In 2022, every EU citizen generated around 5 tonnes of waste, including the so-called main mineral waste from mining, quarrying, construction and demolition. On average, 40.8% of these amounts of waste were recycled and 30.2% landfilled (source: Eurostat).

The EU’s Circular Economy concept aims to use resources more efficiently and minimise the generation of waste to meet the environmental and economic challenges of the future. In contrast to the traditional linear economic model, which is based on the principle of ‘take, make, dispose’, the circular economy system keeps products, materials and resources within the economic cycle for as long as possible.

Even if the idea of creating an economic system consisting entirely of closed recycling loops seems tempting, this is an impossibility when viewed realistically. Recycling of certain waste streams is often ruled out by high levels of harmful substances contained in them. A certain proportion of the waste produced is not suitable for recycling or could only be recycled at an ecologically unacceptable cost in terms of energy and material use. For these types of waste, suitable options for their removal and disposal must also be created within the framework of a circular economy in order to reduce the level of pollutants.

Mechanical Waste Treatment
 
Mechanical waste treatment is the commonly applied method for processing, separating, cleaning and producing individual fractions of mixed waste. As a rule, it is an important step in the recycling process, which significantly contributes to the preparation of waste for subsequent recycling or other recovery.

First, the waste is shredded, in order to make it easier to handle it and to increase the separation efficiency of the subsequent treatment steps. Screening and sorting systems are then used to separate the different materials based on their physical properties such as size, weight, density, absorption of infrared light or magnetizability.

The design of a suitable sequence of physical treatment steps enables not only the separation into individual types of waste (e.g. metals, plastics, inert materials, organics), but also the separation into different materials within one of these waste types (e.g. the separation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals or the separation of different types of plastic).

The considerable technological differences in the production of solid recovered fuel (RDF) from commercial waste for subsequent use either in a cement plant (left) or in a fluidized bed incineration plant (right) are shown in the figure below.
Comparison of the mechanical processing steps for the production of substitute fuel from commercial waste for subsequent use in a cement kiln (left) or in a fluidized bed incineration plant (right) (Source: UNTHA shredder technology in: Whitebook Waste-to-Energy in Austria (2015), p. 37)
Waste-to-Energy
 
In the context of the EU’s Circular Economy, thermal waste treatment (Waste-to-Energy, WtE) plays an important role in the treatment of non-recyclable waste types with a certain heating value. In addition to the sanitation and inertization of the waste, the destruction of pollutants and the provision of energy, thermal waste treatment also makes a significant contribution to climate protection and the closing of raw material cycles.

Details cf.: Waste-to-Energy

Waste – End-of-Waste
 
Waste can cease to be waste.

This has considerable impact on the legal requirements that subsequently apply to these substances, for example with regard to their further use or their transboundary shipment.

The end of waste status can only be achieved if the relevant requirements applicable to products are complied with. Existing substances are considered waste until they or the substances obtained from them are used directly as substitutes for primary raw materials or for products made from primary raw materials. General requirements for the achievement of end-of-waste status are defined in Article 6 of the EU Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) and in § 5 of the Austrian Waste Act (AWG 2002, Federal Law Gazette I No. 102/2002 as amended), respectively.

The EU has issued end-of-waste regulations for aluminium, steel and iron scrap, cullet and copper scrap.

In Austria, national end-of-waste regulations were issued that apply to compost, waste-derived fuels, recycled wood and recycled building and construction materials.

Waste – By-product
 
In some cases, it is unclear whether a substance, where the production of this substance is not the main objective of the manufacturing process, is a waste or a by-product.

Waste and by-products are subject to very different legal requirements in many respects, including their subsequent use or their transboundary shipment.

Article 5 of the EU Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) and § 2 (3a) of the Austrian Waste Act (AWG 2002, Federal Law Gazette I No. 102/2002 as amended) define the conditions under which a substance is considered to be a by-product.

Further Information