Page 61 - Waste-to-Energy in the Danube Strategy Region. Challenges and Prospects

A landfill tax (ALSAG fee) was introduced in 1989. The first objective was to raise capital

for the cleaning of contaminated landfill sites. From 1996, the Landfill Ordinance created
differentiated progressive landfill tax rates. Different tax brackets were stipulated according to the

technical standard of existing landfills and types of waste. The Landfill Ordinance also established

a future ban on landfilling and stipulated that all waste with a calorific value higher than 6,600

kJ/kg must be thermally treated. Total compliance with this law was set for 2004, with local

exceptions until the end of 2008. This step was a significant hit to landfilling companies and thus
encountered considerable resistance. The situation led to increased competition and a reduction

in prices for landfilling. Landfill owners were forced to take such action for economic reasons, but

this step ran counter to the intended effect of the ordinance (Bartelings et al. 2005; Federal
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management 2015).

A successor law to the 1990 Waste Management Act was approved in 2002. The Waste

Management Act 2002 implements the EU Waste Framework Directive, establishing goals

together with principles and defining waste. It also established rules for handling, storage and
shipment of waste. A 2010 amendment updated the Act to reflect the new EU Waste Framework

Directive, Directive 2008/98/EC. Since 2017, the overall waste management agenda is addressed

in the Federal Waste Management Plan (the Bundes-Abfallwirtschaftsplan). Generally, the legal

basis for Zwentendorf’s operation is provided by the following legislative acts (Austrian Court of
Audit 2017; Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management 2015;

Office of the Federal State Government of Niederösterreich 2016):

• EU Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC);

• Waste Management Act 2002 - AWG 2002, BGBl. I Nr. 102;
• Federal Waste Management Plan 2017;

• Lower Austrian Waste Management Act 1992 (NÖ AWG 1992), LGBl. Nr. 8240-0;

• Lower Austria Waste Management Plan 2016–2020.

Project co-funded by the European Union
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