CONFERENCE THE FUTURE OF RESIDUAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE 2005

Status and Trends of the Residual Waste Treatment Options in Germany

Ms. Susanne Hempen



STATUS AND TRENDS OF RESIDUAL WASTE TREATMENT IN
GERMANY

Susanne Hempen

Federal Ministry of Environment, Robert-Schumann Platz 3, D-53175 Bonn, Germany


1. ABSTRACT

Germany introduced a landfill ban for untreated biologically degradable organic waste that entered into force on 1
st

J une 2005. The article describes the motives that go back to the early 90s and the legal development of the landfill
ban. The difficulties and success transforming the waste management from a disposal dominated infrastructure
towards a system contributing to climate protection are demonstrated.

2. OVERVIEW ON THE MANAGEMENT OF RESIDUAL WASTE IN GERMANY

The late 1980s were characterised by economic growth and an increase of waste at the same time.
Landfilling was the dominant waste treatment method. Apart from a pressuring space problem, it
also became evident that the standard practice of dumping untreated waste in inadequately lined
landfills led to soil, surface and groundwater contamination and to emissions of climate-changing
landfill gas. The quantitative problem of waste volume was accompanied by a qualitative
problem, the harmful substances within the waste. In the 70s there were approximately 50.000
landfill sites in Germany. Many of them became contaminated sites and still require aftercare.
Yet, there was little public acceptance for establishing new waste management facilities, be it
incineration plants, compost plants or even landfills. This was prompted by fears of waste
treatment facilities, most of all incinerators, putting out harmful air pollutants (primarily dioxins,
heavy metals and particulates) that were liable to cause health and environmental problems.

2.1 Waste Management Act

A first attempt to solve these problems was made by the adoption of the first Waste Management
Act (Abfallgesetz) from 1986 which set a legal framework for the treatment of waste. The waste
hierarchy: waste avoidance before waste recovery before waste disposal was established. Only
waste not suitable for recovery due to technical, environmental or economic reasons- should be
disposed off. In addition, the foundation for takeback obligations and the principle of producer
responsibility were set. On the basis of the Waste Management Act several ordinances aiming at
the total reduction of waste volume and the reduction of harmful substances were established e.g.
the Waste Oil Ordinance, Solvent Ordinance and the Packaging Ordinance. The Waste
Management Act also laid down the option to set technical standards for the treatment of waste.
Although the act could not set up legally binding standards in form of ordinances, requirements
could be established via Technical Instructions which acted as guidelines. Despite the attempts to
reduce the volume of waste going to landfill and the progress in land filling techniques, there was
a recognition growing that the disposal of waste with organic and soluble substances does not
support environmentally safe landfilling also over the long term. In 1990, the German Advisory
Council on the Environment recommended 1990 in a special report on waste management that
residual waste is only to be landfilled after conversion to a mineral like or ore-like form, thus
requiring thermal treatment.

CONFERENCE THE FUTURE OF RESIDUAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE 2005
Status and Trends of the Residual Waste Treatment Options in Germany
Ms. Susanne Hempen

2.2 Technical Instructions on Waste from Human Settlements

Against this background, the standards for waste treatment and disposal were redefined in the
early 1990s. In 1991, the Technical Instructions on Waste from Human Settlements (Technische
Anordnung Siedlungsabfall, TASI) were approved and entered into force on 1 J une 1993. The
objectives of the Technical Instructions were:

To recover as much unavoidable waste as possible
To reduce the content of harmful substances in waste as far as possible
To ensure an environmentally compatible treatment and landfill of waste for disposal

It was envisaged to minimise waste going to landfill via an integrated waste management concept
thereby combining recovery measurements and the reduction of harmful substances. The separate
collection of certain waste streams, in particular biowaste, is seen as a prerequisite for effective
material recycling and was established as a general guideline for waste management.
The Technical Instructions on Waste from Human Settlements lay down requirements on the
location, design and operation of landfills and on the composition of waste to be accepted for
landfilling. In order to meet the landfill classification criteria, waste with biologically degradable
constituents has to be made inert and stabilised by treatment prior to landfill. Limits are laid
down for residual quantities of organic material (measured as ignition losses and total organic
content, TOC) and eluates (mostly heavy metals). The stringent requirements were unattainable
for the mechanical-biological treatment facilities at the time. To enable the waste infrastructure to
adapt, a transition period of twelve years was granted. The competent authorities could permit
exceptions allowing landfilling of untreated waste for a maximum of twelve years. From the
beginning, the Technical Instruction on Waste from Human Settlements was controversially
discussed. The high costs implementing the requirements, in particular establishing expensive
incineration plants, and the question of the permissibility of mechanical-biological treatment
prompted many authorities to query the requirements or even seek means of bypassing them.
Section 2.4 of the Technical Instruction on Waste from Human Settlements allowed exemptions
regarding the landfill of the remains from mechanical biological waste treatment and proved to be
open to abuse. An additional problem was that only the authorities but not the landfill operators
or waste producers were obliged to pursue the standards.

2.3 Further regulations

The development towards incineration of waste required emission standards. In 1990 the
Seventeenth Federal Pollution Control Act (17. Bundes-Immissionsschutz-Verordnung) came
into force regulating incinerators for waste and similar combustible material. Emission limits
were set among others for dioxins, furans (0,1ng TEQ/m
3
) and heavy metals. As a consequence,
incinerators had to install complex filters to recover harmful substances. Existing incinerators had
to be upgraded or taken out of use within a six year transitional period. New incinerators had to
operate within the limits from the outset. The incineration of residual waste guarantees that
organic substances are reliably destroyed and that harmful substances are made inert or are
extracted by flue gas scrubbers. As by-products, metals are separated for recycling and the slag
can be reused after reprocessing. The energy output can be recovered as heat and electric power.
The flue gas ashes are to be disposed of under ground e.g. in salt mines in order to exclude them
from the biosphere.

CONFERENCE THE FUTURE OF RESIDUAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE 2005
Status and Trends of the Residual Waste Treatment Options in Germany
Ms. Susanne Hempen

In 1996 the Waste Management Act was amended now called the Closed Substance Cycle and
Waste Management Act (Kreislaufwirtschafts- und Abfallgesetz). Among other things the term
waste for recovery, originating in EU law, was introduced. In addition, the concept of dual waste
management was brought in, making not only municipalities responsible for their waste but also
the private sector. The new law made commercial operators accountable for their waste suitable
for recovery. Public authorities remain responsible for domestic waste and for commercial waste
that is not recoverable.

2.4 Inconsistent Implementation of the Technical Instructions on Waste from Human
Settlements

The extension clause offering the option of landfilling un-pretreated waste was differently
implemented within the Federal States and led to an inconsistent implementation of the Technical
Instructions on Waste from Human Settlements. In consequence, some municipalities invested in
modern state-to-the art incinerators whereas others still filled up their disposal sites. In addition,
the distinction between waste for recovery (the responsibility of the producer) and waste for
disposal (responsibility of municipalities) as laid out in the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste
Management Act was sometimes difficult to put into practice. Some commercial operators tried
to exploit this difficulty by declaring waste for disposal as waste for recovery, thus evading the
fees for obligatory municipal disposal. This false declaration also led to sham recovery and was
used to circumvent the regulations of the Technical Instructions on Waste from Human
Settlements. After superficial sorting solely to justify declarations as waste for recovery
commercial waste often ended up in landfills belonging to municipalities that had not yet
complied with the Technical Instructions. Consequently, waste was withheld from the very
municipalities that had invested more in their waste management infrastructure and charged
higher fees as a result. This development jeopardized the environmental goals of the Technical
Instructions on Waste from Human Settlements and the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste
Management Act. It became a matter of urgency to put a halt to those developments.

2.5 Waste Storage Ordinance

The Ordinance on Environmentally Compatible Storage of Waste from Human Settlements
(Abfallablagerungsverordnung) entered into force in March 2001 and enacted necessary
modifications to the Technical Instruction:

The Waste Storage Ordinance is binding for all parties involved. A direct legal obligation
is placed on the waste owner and landfill operator whereas before the requirements were
addressed to the competent bodies only.
The Ordinance does not grant any exemptions permitting untreated waste to be landfilled
after 1 J une 2005. Biologically degradable waste must be treated before landfilling from 1
J une 2005.
The Ordinance put state-of-the art mechanical biological treatment facilities with thermal
treatment on an equal footing with incineration plants.

The objectives of the Ordinance on Environmentally Compatible Storage of Waste from Human
Settlements were backed up by two other regulations the Thirtieth Federal Immission Control
Ordinance (30. Bundes-Immissionsschutz-Verordnung) and the amended Seventeenth Federal
Immission Control Ordinance (17. Bundes-Immissionsschutz-Verordnung). As the Waste Storage
Ordinance also permitted mechanical-biological treatment, emissions standards for mechanical-
biological treatment plants corresponding with the requirements set for incinerators, are laid
CONFERENCE THE FUTURE OF RESIDUAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE 2005
Status and Trends of the Residual Waste Treatment Options in Germany
Ms. Susanne Hempen

down in the Thirtieth Federal Immission Control Ordinance. Mechanical biological treatment
facilities are to be in housed and have to meet emission standards that require regenerative
thermal oxidation technology (RTO). Exiting plants are to be refitted or taken out of service by
1st. March 2006. The amended Seventeenth Federal Immission Control Ordinance introduced the
same limits for key pollutants such as heavy metals and dioxins for waste co-incineration as
apply for waste incinerators. The alignment of standards was essential in order to ensure a high
quality of recovery and avoid eco-dumping through mechanical biological treatment of waste.

3. BAN ON LANDFILLING OF UN-PRE-TREATED WASTE

Since 1
st
of J une 2005 untreated biologically degradable waste is no longer allowed to be stored
in landfills. The critical question was and to a certain extend still is, whether the existing
treatment capacity is sufficient to deal with the amount of residual waste. The major uncertainty
remains the actual amount of commercial waste similar to household waste. There is little data
available since for this waste stream the producer is responsible to either recover the waste or
hand it to the municipalities as waste for disposal. Different sources evaluate the potential volume
of commercial waste between 2-7 million tons per year. Contrary to this, data on household waste
for disposal including bulky waste and commercial waste for disposal are sufficient.

Table1. Waste Volume and treatment capacity in 2005 in million tons

Waste for disposal Million tons
Municipal waste and bulky waste for disposal 16.21
Commercial waste for disposal 4.161
Subtotal 20.37

Sorting residues, contraries/compost plants 0.44
Sorting residues, contraries/sorting plants 1.29
Solid recovered fuels from MBT 2.39
Subtotal 4.13

Total amount of waste for disposal 24.5
Source: 3. Fortschreibungsbericht der LAGA, November 2004

At present there are 58 mechanical-biological treatment plants and 67 waste incinerators with a
total treatment capacity of 22.55 million tons waste available.

Table 2. Treatment capacity in 2005

Treatment capacity Million tons
Incineration plants 16.34
Mechanical biological treatment plants 6.22
Total treatment capacity 22.56
Source: 3. Fortschreibungsbericht der LAGA, November 2004


1
Please note that the data on commercial waste are estimations
CONFERENCE THE FUTURE OF RESIDUAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE 2005
Status and Trends of the Residual Waste Treatment Options in Germany
Ms. Susanne Hempen

A comparison of the treatment capacities and the amount of waste for disposal illustrates a
capacity shortfall of at least 2 million tons. The actual amount of commercial waste for disposal
is still an unknown number. Further treatment capacities are planned. In the near future additional
1.56 million tons of waste will be covered by incineration and 900.000 tons by mechanical
biological treatment. Regarding co-incineration, there are currently licensed capacities for a total
of 1.5 million tons of waste, of which 720.000 tons are certified for sorted and processed waste.
Further capacities for co-incineration are also envisaged.
In the meantime options to over bridge the gap are:

Intensify recycling activities
Intensify separate biowaste collection and treatment
Intensify the use of solid recovered fuels
Waste export (without circumvention of German standards)
Temporary storage of waste

EU and German legislation allow the temporary storage of waste in landfills of up to one year in
the case of waste for disposal and up to three years in the case of waste for recovery. Temporary
storage in a landfill requires a separate licence by way of a planning application subject to public
scrutiny. The authorities set a date the stored waste has to be disposed off by the operator. To
ensure compliance, the authorities will require that the operator deposit a security bond covering
all costs of reclaiming, treating and storing the waste. Ultimately, then, the cost of temporary
storage would exceed the costs treating the waste in compliance with the Waste Storage
Ordinance.
According to information of the Federal States there are currently 12 temporary storages with a
total capacity of 736.000 tons either in planning or already licensed. Overall, it is estimated that
the shortcomings of treatment capacity are of a temporary nature and will be overcome within the
next two years.

4. CONTRIBUTION OF THE WASTE SECTOR TO CLIMATE PROTECTION

German waste management has transformed significantly since the early 90s. Although the total
amount of household waste has remained constant over the years, the ratio of waste for disposal
and waste for recycling has changed.

Table 3: Development of household waste in Germany in million tons *

Year Waste quantity (million tons) Waste for recycling (million tons)
1990 38.78 4.9
2001 39.70 20.56
2005 36.87 20.564
* For this table commercial waste similar to household waste is not included
Source: Statisches Bundesamt
CONFERENCE THE FUTURE OF RESIDUAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE 2005
Status and Trends of the Residual Waste Treatment Options in Germany
Ms. Susanne Hempen


Whereas in 1990, just below 5 million tonnes out of 38.8 million tons household waste were
separately collected and recycled this quadrupled in 2001 to more than 20 million tons. The
recycling rate increased from 12 % in 1990 to more than 46 % in 2001 and until today continues
at this level
2
. Including material and recovery of household and bulky waste an overall recovery
rate of 53 % was achieved in 2001.
The amount of un-pre-treated waste from households going directly to landfill decreased from
28.77 million tons in 1990 to 8.36 million tons in 2001 and should end completely in 2005. In
consequence, the numbers of landfill sites decreased over the years. Whereas in 1990 there were
over 8000 sites in use the number of currently operating landfill sites is below 300.

Table 4: Development of landfill sites in Germany
Source:Bundesumweltministerium

The rise in recycling and the increase of waste treatment before being landfilled resulted in a
significant reduction of climate relevant gases. In total, the equivalent of 46 million tons CO
2

were saved between 1990 and 2005 by the waste treatment sector. Of particular importance is the
reduction of methane emissions through decreasing the amount of un-pre-treated waste and
finally banning the disposal of organic biodegradable waste on landfill sites. This measure has
contributed 86 % to the total savings.

Table 5: Reduction of methane emission (in CO
2
equivalents)

Year Million tons
(1990=100)
1990 31.5 (100)
1992 31.3 (99)
1994 27.8 (88)
1996 22.9 (73)
1998 18.6 (59)
2000 14.4 (46)
2004 10.5 (33)
2012 (estimate) 2 (7)
Source: Bundesumweltministerium

2
Figures include the deduction of sorting and treatment residues.
Year Number of landfill sites
1990 8273
1993 562
1995 472
1997 372
1999 376
2004 297
2010 27-111 (estimate)
CONFERENCE THE FUTURE OF RESIDUAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE 2005
Status and Trends of the Residual Waste Treatment Options in Germany
Ms. Susanne Hempen

The reduction of 46 million tons CO
2
emissions equals 20 % of the agreed total reduction targets
to be achieved in 2005 within the frame of the Kyoto protocol. It is estimated that by 2020 a
further 9 million ton CO
2
equivalents can be saved by considering the following measures:

Increase material recycling of paper, glass, plastic and metal
Increase of co-incineration and thermal recovery of waste
Increase of co-generation of heat and power in incineration plants
Increase separate biowaste collection and recovery

A recent study shows that if the EU-15 would introduce a similar ban of landfilling un-pre-treated
waste, potentially 134 million tons CO
2
equivalents could be avoided between 2000 and 2020.
This is equivalent to 11 % of the post Kyoto maximum target of a 30 % emission reduction in
2020. Already the consequent implementation of the EU Landfill Directive (reduction of
biodegradable waste by 65 % in 2016) could reduce the emissions by 74 million tons CO
2
equivalents. This illustrates the potential waste management has to contribute to climate
protection.

LIST OF REFERENCES

Dr. Claus-Gerhard Bergs, Dr. Claus-Andre Radde (2005). Der Werdegang von TA Siedlungsabfall und
Abfallablagerungsverordnung ein kritischer Rckblick, Mll und Abfall, vol.5, p. 253-259.
Gnter Dehoust, Kirsten Wiegmann, Uwe Fritsche, Hartmut Stahl, Wolfgang J enseit, Anke Herold, Martin cames,
Peter Gebhardt, ko-Institut e.V. (2005). Statusbericht zum Beitrag der Abfallwirtschaft zum Klimaschutz
und mgliche Potentiale, Ufoplan, FKZ 205 33 314, Umweltbundesamt.
J rgen Giegrich, Regine Vogt, IFEU-Institut Heidelberg (2005), Beitrag der Abfallwirtschaft zur nachhaltigen
Entwicklung in Deutschland Teilbericht Siedlungsabflle, Ufoplan, Projekt FKZ 203 92 309,
Umweltbundesamt.
Lndergemeinschaft Abfall; Bericht der Lndergemeinschaft Abfall (LAGA). Umsetzung der
Abfallablagerungsverordnung - Dritter Fortschreibungsbericht der LAGA, November 2004.
Sachverstndigenrat fr Umweltfragen: Sondergutachten Abfallwirtschaft, Bundestags-Drucksache 11/8493.