Austria: Municipality of Vienna & the Province of Vorarlberg

Transcription

1 Case study 2: food waste collection from SMEs Austria: Municipality of Vienna & the Province of Vorarlberg This case study draws on two Austrian examples, the municipality of Vienna and the province of Vorarlberg. The province of Vorarlberg is located in the west of Austria. Waste collection and treatment services are provided by private companies. The province has about 330,000 inhabitants. The economy is characterised by small and medium sized enterprises. Tourism is of high importance with 2.9 million overnight stays per year. The landscape is characterised by both the Rhine valley, where two thirds of the population lives, and alpine areas, with some well known summer and winter sport regions like Arlberg and Montafon. Austria s capital Vienna has about 1.7 million inhabitants. A full range of domestic and commercial waste collection services is provided by public service provider Magistratsabteilung 48 who commenced separate food waste collections in 2008.

2 Province of Vorarlberg Key facts Customers Service provider Date service began operation Containment Charges Collection method & frequency Collection vehicle Transfer & bulking Treatment SMEs Different private companies Over 25 years ago (starting from a additional service provided by pig farmers) 80l bins ( change-the-bin system), 120l wheeled bins with lockable lid and rubber seals ( empty-the-bin system), 25l plastic bags By individual arrangement Food wastes are collected via a dedicated commercial service at least weekly or by individual arrangement. Different vehicles: Pickups for change-the-bin system Loading vehicles for 120l wheeled bins Delivered straight to treatment plants. Various anaerobic digestion plants, operated by private companies and by farmers Motivation For SMEs the primary motivation for their participation in the food waste collection service is one of cost; essentially it costs less to have food waste collected separately than if it were collected as residual waste. Additionally restaurants, hotels and other kitchens are obliged to collect food waste separately.

3 The approach taken Containment Different container types are offered, primarily 80l bins; 120l wheeled bin with lockable lid and rubber seals; and 25l bags. Container washing is carried out as a standard component of the food collection service and undertaken after each container is emptied. Vehicles Standard side loading non-compacting collection vehicles are employed where SMEs are supplied with 120l wheeled bins. Pick up-lorries are used to deliver and collect 80l bins. Treatment The collected food waste is taken directly to different anaerobic digestion plants operated by private companies and farmers. Food waste collected with the municipal biowaste collection is treated in a dry anaerobic digestion plant (system Kompogas). This plant is not suited for treating wet food/kitchen waste. Separately collected wet food/kitchen wastes are treated separately in other ( wet operating) anaerobic digestion plants. Charging mechanism SMEs are typically charged on an individual basis.

4 Successful system In 2009 more than 95% of SME food waste was collected and treated separately. 1 This equated to approximately 6,200 tonnes, of which about 82% was from restaurants and hotels, 7% from hospitals, 7% from social institutions (for example elderly care homes) and 4% from other institutions. About 20% of food waste from SMEs is collected by the municipal biowaste collection and 80% via the separate food waste collection. Lessons learned The separate collection system is highly efficient. This is partly due to the ongoing provision of information from the Provincial Government, the Chamber of Commerce and the operators of the collection service to SMEs regarding the benefits of separate collection. A high level of knowledge regarding food waste arisings has developed over the 25 years that the service has been in operation. The following benchmarks on quantities of food waste produced are used: o 40 kg per year per seat in restaurants o 0.4 kg per guest night in hotels (without restaurant) o 0.55 kg per patient night in hospitals o 0.2 kg per portion in canteens or other large kitchens 1 Hauer W. (2009) Potentialabschätzung für Küchenabfälle und Speisereste aus Gastronomie und Grossküchen in Vorarlberg, on behalf of the Provincial Government Vorarlberg.

5 Municipality of Vienna Key facts Customers SMEs Service provider City of Vienna, Department MA 48 Date service began operation 2008 Containment Charges Collection method & frequency Collection vehicle Transfer & bulking Treatment Service scope 120l wheeled bin with lockable lid and rubber seals. Container washing of the kitchen bin is carried out as a standard component of the service and is undertaken after each container is emptied. 9 per emptying / cleaning / disposing Food waste is collected via a dedicated commercial service at least weekly or by individual arrangement. A side loader without compaction, equipped with bin cleaning units and a tank for the collected material. The vehicle is also able to take food waste from tanks. Delivered straight to the treatment plant. Anaerobic digestion facility operated by municipal department MA 48 Residual waste and dry recycling collection services are also available. Motivation Restaurants, hotels, hospitals and other kitchens are obliged to have a separate collection and treatment of food waste. As a mandated requirement motivation is less of an issue. However, in practice many enterprises dispose of food waste via the residual bin due to the lack of financial incentive. Motivation to use the Wiener Küchentonne (Vienna kitchen bin) is mainly associated with the improved reputation in the community as a result of using the service. This is partly because the bin cleansing service results in a more sanitised street environment.

6 Service specifications Companies affected All restaurants and kitchens above a defined size should have a separate collection of kitchen/food waste. Smaller companies should use the biowaste bins for food preparation waste and the residual waste for leftovers. Whether or not a company is included on a separate kitchen waste collection round depends on the quantity of kitchen waste. Per week a company should not produce less than 80kg. As a guide it is expected that at least 80kg/week would be produced by: Restaurants with 8 or more employees; Restaurants with more than 100 seats; Hotels with more than 80 beds; Hospitals and homes with more than 25 beds; and Canteens producing more than 200 portions per day. When the collection started in 2008 the total food waste collected was 1,300 tonnes. In 2009 this had increased to 7,000 tonnes, of which 75% was collected by the service and 25% was transported directly to the treatment facility by customers producing large quantities of food waste. Vehicles The service uses a side loading non-compacting collection vehicle. The tank for kitchen waste has a capacity of 12m³. The vehicles are also equipped with a 500l cooking oil tank. Since early 2010 a rear loader is also in use.

7 Figure I2: Side loader vehicle with tank emptying a 120 litre wheeled bin Figure I3: Tank vehicle sucking liquid kitchen waste stored in tanks Treatment The collected food waste is taken directly to an anaerobic digestion plant. The facility is located within the municipality, approximately 15km from the centre of the city of Vienna. The facility also has the ability to treat packed food (e.g. unopened trays from kindergartens). Wet kitchen waste can be

8 treated more effectively via anaerobic digestion than aerobic composting. Figure I4: Vienna AD plant with cylindrical reactor and biogas bubble storage (foreground) and WtoE plant (background) Charging mechanism Charges for SMEs are calculated on the basis of container type, collection frequency and quantity of material. Table I2: Collection and treatment charges Vienna Municipality (VAT excluded) Container size Collection and treatment charge ( ) 120l residual waste per emptying 240l residual waste per emptying 1,100l residual waste per emptying l kitchen waste 9.00 The charging scheme is based on the type of bin and the weight of the material in terms of treatment charges. This does not incentivise companies to separate food waste, due to the high density of food waste, and consequent high weight.

9 Lessons learned The key lesson learned is regarding the treatment required for SME food waste. In Vienna, aerobic composting facilities were established nearly twenty years ago. Waste from less densely built-up areas where a significant amount of garden waste is produced is sent to these facilities. However, the wetter waste produced by SMEs do not compost well in an IVC facility, without the addition of structural material. This wetter food waste is suited to an anaerobic digestion facility. An additional benefit of keeping food waste separate from garden waste is that high quality compost can be produced from the garden waste, which is used in organic farming. The heavy metal content particularly copper and nickel of kitchen waste is too high for such applications.

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