Waste Treatment Facilities – General Authorisation

General information

Facilities serving the treatment of waste which are subject to approval according to the Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz 2002 may be established and operated only with official authorisation. For certain types of facilities, a simplified authorisation procedure is applied.

The competent body will grant the authorisation if the treatment facilities meet the following requirements:

• Human life and health are not threatened.
  
• Emissions of pollutants are in every case limited in accordance with the state of the art.
  
• Neighbours are not troubled by noise, odour, smoke, dust, vibrations, or in any other unacceptable way.
• The property and any other material rights of neighbours are not threatened (threat to property does not mean the possibility of a mere loss in market value).
• Unavoidable wastes accumulating in the operation of the treatment facilities are prepared for re-use, recycled or recovered in any other way in accordance with the state of the art or – if this is not acceptable from an economic point of view – are duly disposed of.
• Other public interests are taken into account.
• The additional requirements applying in the authorisation procedure are met.
• Treatment obligations are complied with.
  

Usually authorisation procedures for stationary and mobile waste treatment facilities are handled as follows:

• Filing of application
  
• Fact establishment (maybe including a hearing which involves persons having party status such as, in particular, neighbours)
  
• Decision (if necessary specifying terms and conditions)

Enterprises affected

Operators of facilities serving the treatment of waste which are subject to approval according to the Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz.

Requirements

See Description of the Subject Matter.

Deadlines

In good time prior to the establishment and operation of, or major change to, the facilities

Competent authority

• The Provincial Governor^{German text}
• The Provincial Governor may delegate procedures and supervision to the district administrative authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde).

Legal bases

• Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz 2002

Expert information

No expert information is available.