Vienna plans waste facility with recycling and incineration

Vienna will plan a new waste treatment facility to handle the city’s growing waste volumes, ORF reported. The city’s environmental committee approved the start of planning this week.

The facility is expected to be built next to the Rautenweg landfill for residual materials in the Donaustadt district. A strategic environmental assessment has already been completed.

The plant is intended to process residual and bulky waste. Materials such as plastics and metals will be separated and recycled before the remaining waste is incinerated. Vienna’s three existing large residual waste facilities do not currently carry out this sorting.

The measure is also linked to mandatory European Union recycling quotas from 2035. “This facility will allow Vienna to remain independent in waste management in the future,” Climate Councillor Jürgen Czernohorszky of the Social Democratic Party said in a statement.

Heat generated by incineration will be converted into electricity and heating for households. Demand for heating is expected to increase particularly in districts north of the Danube.

Construction could begin in 2030 at the earliest, with the facility scheduled to start operating in 2034. This would be before the Flötzersteig and Spittelau facilities are due to undergo refurbishment in 2035.

The construction costs have not yet been determined. The city has budgeted 13.7 million euros for planning, including expert reports and investigations. The project is also included in the current governing programme of Vienna’s city administration.