!!!Abfallwirtschaft

Waste Management: Solving the problem of waste disposal is one of the 
primary tasks of Austrian  Environmental Protection. Since the amount 
of waste produced in Austria has been growing steadily since 1950, an 
integrated and comprehensive waste management system was developed 
from Austria's previous waste disposal system. The primary goal of 
waste management is the quantitative and qualitative reduction of 
waste, i.e. to limit waste to a minimum and to avoid using toxic 
materials. The goal is also to re-use waste ( Recycling, as well as to 
produce energy from it). At present, waste may be dumped only after 
pre-treatment. Through these measures, a reduction of waste in Austria 
was achieved for the first time in 1993. While in 1991 more than 
2 mio. tons of household waste were produced, the amount of 
residual waste was less than 1.4 mio. tons in 1996. In the same 
period, Austria was able to reduce the number of waste dumps from 145 
to 60. The main factors in this improvement were the separate 
collection of paper, cardboard, glass, metals and plastic (packaging) 
as well as compost waste. In 1996 a total of 46.5 mio. tons of 
waste were produced in Austria, more than half of which was 
construction waste (excavated material and demolition waste) as well 
as construction site waste. Hazardous waste amounted to 1.6 mio. 
tons, and miscellaneous non-hazardous waste totalled 14.5 mio. 
tons.

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Waste management has also become an economic sector in Austria; 
revenues in this industry were ATS 12 bio. in 1993, and once the 
Packaging Regulation went into effect in 1994 they rose to ATS 
14.5 bio. The Austrian waste disposal industry (including 
municipal operations) employs more than 20,000 people in Austria, more 
than half of whom work in commercial enterprises.

!Further reading
Federal Ministry of Environmental Affairs, Youth and 
the Family (ed.), Bundesabfallwirtschaftsplan 1998 (ed. every 
3 years, on basis of Waste Management Act 1990).


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