Waste Management in Germany (short version)

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Waste Management in Germany(short version)

• Dr.-Ing. Helmut Schnurer
• Deputy Director General
• from 1985 until 2006
• Head of Waste Management Directorate
• at the Federal Ministry for the Environment
• Bonn, Germany

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Some Facts and Figures (1)

• Until 1972 50.000 uncontrolled landfills in FRG
• Most have been closed within few years and
  replaced by central waste management facilities
  (engineered landfills, MSWI)
• Today High Tech Industry transfers waste to
  secondary raw materials and energy
• turnover of 50 billion EURO/y
• 250 000 jobs
• Invested money 1993-2005
• 9 billion EURO for remediation and closure of gt
  500 landfills
• 3 billion EURO for new facilities to recycle and
  recover 12.5 million tons of waste per year (bio
  waste, RDF)
• 7.5 billion EURO for new facilities to pretreate
  14 million tons of MSW per year

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Steps of Development (1)

• First reduce waste for disposal
• Inform / motivate citizens and industry
• Start of separate collection of recycable waste
• Promote reuse (packaging)
• Increase gate fee for landfills
• Second priority for recycling/(recovery)
• Reduce waste going to landfill (no capacities)
• Save resources (secondary raw materials/RDF)
• Introduce extended producer responsibility
  (packaging, batteries, waste oil, scrap cars,
  WEEE)
• Promote composting, paper recycling and others

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(No Transcript)
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Problems with Landfilling
Wastes
Landfill gas
Landfill

Water
CPB- Reactor
Surface water
Barriers
Leachate
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Steps of Development (2)

• Third stop landfilling of untreated MSW, because
  of
• Opposition from citizens against new sites
• High costs for new landfills and aftercare
• Old landfills became contaminated sites
• Landfilling is the contrary of sustainability
• Landfilling adds significantly to the emissions
  of climate damaging gases (methane)
• New regulations limit the contents of
  biodegradable material (TOC) and of soluble
  hazardous substances

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Scientific RD in Germany

• At Germanys largest research center
  Forschungszentum Karlsruhe (FZK)
• Research on incineration of different wastes at
  test facility TAMARA (grate)
• Results on knowhow and technology
• Improving incineration geometry to reduce
  generation of toxic substances
• Improve off gas treatment (dioxins, NOX, HMs)
• Develop online control systems (e.g. mercury)
• Feedback to German technology providers
• Director Prof. H. Seifert, ITC-TAB
• lthelmut.seifert_at_itc-tab.fzk.degt

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Steps of Development (3)

• Fourth Consequences of restrictions for
  landfilling All MSW has to be pre-treated
  since 2005
• Regulations do not define the way
• but the results
• specifications of pre-treated waste stringent
  requirements to protect emissions into air and
  water

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Integrated Waste Management System
waste
yes
secondary raw material
can be avoided
no
can be recovered
recycling or energy recovery
yes
no
can be landfilled
yes
landfill
thermal treatment
energy
no
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Emissions from waste incineration in Germany (per
100 000 t of MSW)
Before 1990
Today
210.000 t NOX410.000 t SO2 180 kg
Cd 130 kg Hg 6 g Dioxin
36.000 t NOX 0,9 t
SO2 1,2 kg Cd 1,2
kg Hg 0,003 g Dioxin
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Steps of Development (4)

• Fifth Solutions in Germany (public and private
  operators)
• Rely on proven technology Municipal Solid Waste
  Incineration (MSWI, mainly grate)
• 73 MSWI facilities are operating presently
• Total capacity of 17.9 million tons per year
  (65)
• Mechanical-biological-treatment (MBT)
• 66 facilities with 7.2 mill t/y (26)
• Co-incineration in coal fired power plants and
  cement kilns
• presently only 2.3 mill t/y, 8
• Praxis is similar in some other European
  countries like A, CH, DK, NL, S

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A new Experience Waste Management contributes to
Climate Protection (1)(Research Report 205 33
314 BMU/UBA/Oeko-Institut/ifeu, 8/2005)

• Methane-emissions from dumps are 21-times more
  effective than CO2
• Out phasing landfills for solid waste in Germany
  has reduced such gas emissions significantly
• Incineration of organic waste has no impact on
  climate change
• Outphasing landfill and other modern waste
  management activities contribute to a total
  reduction of 46 mill t CO2 equivalents from 1990
  until 2005 (which is the highest individual
  contribution to climate protection in Germany)

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A new Experience Waste Management contributes to
Climate Protection (2)(Research Report 205 33
314 BMU/UBA/Oeko-Institut/ifeu, 8/2005)

• Mayor contributions for reductions aside out
  phasing of landfills are
• MSWI and Co-incineration (substitution of fossil
  fuel)
• Metal recycling
• Paper recycling
• Glass recycling
• Total reductions from 1990 until 2020 are assumed
  to be 50 mill t in Germany, mainly by no
  landfilling (76), MSWI (9), co-incineration
  (7) and material recycling (5)
• The reduction potential for the old EU (15 MS)
  could be 134 mill t CO2 equivalents, almost 100
  mill t from terminating landfilling! (USA?)

More energy efficient
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Alternatives to landfilling ?

• Avoid waste generation zero waste is unrealistic
• Recycle all wastes good for certain wastes,
  unrealistic for all wastes (no technology
  available, no market, high costs)
• Recycling and energy recovery Germanys goal for
  2020 for MSW (with few exemptions), unrealistic
  for all wastes
• Energy recovery is necessary for all organic
  waste, plastic waste thermal treatment is
  necessary for contaminated waste
• Which Waste-to-Energy system should be chosen???

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Some results from Germany alternative
Technologies failed (1)

• Thermoselect
• One facility built at Karlsruhe
• Never reached specifications/continuous operation
  ? shut down ? loss of 400 mill
• Schwel-Brenn-Verfahren
• Developed by experienced company (Siemens)
• Pilot plant al Ulm worked well
• First full scale facility started construction
  but was not finished due to technical problems
  and increasing costs
• Gasification at Schwarze Pumpe
• Facility worked well with specific wastes
• Operation terminated due to not competitive high
  operating costs

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Some more results from Germany alternative
Technologies failed (2)

• Pyrolysis
• Several small sized plants have been built
• Only one is still operating (why ? technical
  problems and how to dispose off hazardous tar)
• Plasma Technology
• Only experiments and test rigs no large facility
  for waste has been realized
• Katalytic Depolimerisation
• Small test rig promises to transfer waste into
  diesel
• No large facility has proven to be available for
  mixed waste
• Deep well injection
• In theory an ideal solution for organic sludge
• Technical realisation failed

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Lessons to be learned

• Established technologies for defined and clean
  substancies dont work autimaticly for
  heterogeneous wastes ? MSW chameleon
• Alternative technologies have to cope with
• Existing stringent emission standards
• Warrant reliable continous operation
• Verify a complete analysis of inputs/outputs
• Proof of reliable costs (invest, operation,
  maintenance)
• If a solution for managing the arising wastes is
  needed urgently proven technology is
  recommended
• Decisions to rely on alternative technologies
  can only be recommended, if disposal of arising
  wastes will be secured in case of the new
  technology system fails

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Report from EEA from January 08(conclusions)
Source ISSN 1830-2246

• Better management of municipal waste will reduce
  greenhouse gas emissions
• (EEA European Environmental Agency)
• The amount of municipal waste is expected to grow
  by 25 from 2005 to 2020
• Increased recovery of waste, and diverting waste
  away from landfill play a key role in tackling
  the environmental impacts of increasing waste
  volumes.
• As recycling and incineration with energy
  recovery are increasingly used, net greenhouse
  gas emissions from municipal waste management are
  expected to drop considerably by 2020.
• Limiting or avoiding growth in waste volumes
  would further reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  from the waste sector and deliver other benefits
  to society and the environment.

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