Waste Management

From Disposal to Management of Material Flows

Waste management has become increasingly important in Germany over the last two decades. Twenty years ago, landfill space was running out and little recycling took place. Owing to conflicts about siting landfills and licensing incinerators in the 1980s, a law was passed mandating an economic cycle as part of an innovative waste management system. In consequence, the recycling quota increased and environmental impacts were reduced.

The Situation Today

The high standards that were achieved are endangered by pressure for cost reduction and in light of increasing deregulation. Many possibilities for waste recovery or recycling have not been implemented. Waste management has become part of a comprehensive management of material flows.

A Traditional Area of Work at IFEU

In 1984, IFEU published the book "Ecological Use of Waste" and estimated that 50 % of municipal solid waste could be recycled. Many people, even experts, did not believe it at the time. Today this quota has been exceeded.

IFEU has presented innovative solutions for cities and counties. Waste management concepts were developed involving a total of 10 million residents. IFEU assisted in the implementation by working with stakeholders in politics, administration and local communitioes. Outcome of the process was a comparative risk assessment of landfills and waste incineration and comprehensive technology concepts.

New Times -
New Solutions

Following the tradition of a comprehensive assessment of waste management, IFEU contributed to current developments:

• System analysis of waste mangement and its evaluation using ecobalances
• Assessment of co-combustion of waste in industrial facilities (power plants, cement kilns etc.)
• Development of the most environmentally friendly options to handle different types of waste
• Modelling of material flows in waste management.

The material flow software tool UMBERTO® helps IFEU to model complex systems in a transparent and efficient way.

Areas of Work

Further information can be found to our areas of work:

Waste Management Concepts

LCA and Waste Management

Municipal Solid Waste

Mineral Construction Waste

Packaging

Waste Management Facilities

Co-Incineration/Co-Treatment

EIA of Waste Management Plans

Transports in Waste Management

->List of Projects "Waste Management"

Contact

Your contact partner for waste management is Jürgen Giegrich
(06221/4767-21; juergen.giegrich@ifeu.de).