Waste Minimisation in Austria: An Overview on the Present Situation and Potentials for Improvement

Waste minimisation includes measures for waste prevention (reduction of the generation of waste and/or the hazardous character of waste) as well as recycling (mainly feedstock recycling, the reuse of materials as secondary raw material, in some case also thermal recycling, the use of the calorific value of waste materials). On the other hand, waste streams can be defined by the waste producers, which are here categorised as households (typical processes are food preparation, the consumption of clothing, furniture and other goods) and companies (all types of industrial and commercial enterprises, public institutions etc.) The paper compares the activities and effects of waste prevention and recycling in Austria both for the household sector and companies. The prevention of household waste shows only small potentials, but the recycling of household waste was introduced rather effective in Austria. For industrial or commercial waste a reliable database in not available, thus the effects of waste prevention and recycling can be shown only on a case-to-case basis.

• Introduction

• Facts for Waste Minimisation in Austria

• Conclusions

• References