Austria
Legal system
Free-market system
Impacts on health and on the environment
Technological innovations
Main ELT management organisation
Opportunities and drivers
ELT treatment
- From 2019 to 2021 material recovery consistently declined, while energy recovery increased.
- Between 2021 and 2022 material recovery sharply declined, and energy recovery increased by 35%.
- From 2019 to 2023 material recovery reduced by 22% and energy recovery increased by 30%.
- The shift from material recovery to energy recovery is driven by volatile recycled material prices, cost advantages of thermal treatment, technical challenges, and high demand for alternative fuels (e.g., cement production).
Rising electricity prices during and post-COVID-19 led recycling companies to increase gate fees, reducing their competitiveness versus the cement industry.
Major changes in legislation/policy since 2016
Barriers and challenges
ELT Data:
Metric kilotons
%
Total Generated
61.5
100.0%
Material Recovery
6.1
10.0%
Civil Engineering Applications
0.0
-
Energy Recovery
55.4
90.0%
No Recovery
0.0
-
Backfilling
0.0
-
Incineration
0.0
-
Landfill Includes Stockpiled
0.0
-
Unknown
0.1
-
Total recovery (material + energy)
61.4
100.0%
Total collected (coverage of data)
61.5
100.0%