photo: ÖBB Rail Cargo Group/Austrian Government Amends the Waste Management Act. RCG Has Already Invested EUR 75M in Containers and Chassis for Waste Transport
The Austrian government issued the Waste Management Act, which came into force on 1 January this year. The aim is to promote the transport of waste by rail. Any transporter can now register on a digital platform set up by the Austrian government for this purpose. In response to this issue, the Rail Cargo Group (RCG) has invested EUR 75 million in containers and chassis for waste transport.
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The Austrian government has amended the Waste Management Act and promoted the transport of waste by rail. As of 1 January 2023, waste weighing more than 10 tonnes and travelling more than 300 km must be transported by rail or alternatively powered vehicles. From 2024 the legislators reduced the distance to 200 km and from 2026 to 100 km.
The exceptions are situations where it is objectively proven that adequate capacity cannot be provided by rail or where the distance to be travelled by road to and from one of the nearest rail loading points would be more than 25% compared to road transport.
To manage capacity, the government has set up a digital platform to target waste transport demand and efficiently solicit bids from rail transporters. If adequate capacity cannot be provided, the system sends a confirmation of capacity shortage, making only this confirmation valid for road transport.
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Hauliers wishing to transport waste must register here. Registration is free of charge. The system of preferential rail transport of waste is designed in such a way that it should also allow companies from neighbouring countries to offer waste transport, and the rail carriers could also start to systematically use the capacity shortages in the Austrian market to offer transport of certain waste commodities.
Demand support has already triggered reactions from Austrian freight railway companies. For example, the Rail Cargo Group (RCG) has announced an investment of EUR 75 million in containers and bogies for waste transport.
The Czech Waste Act 541/2020 Coll. has also created a mandatory registration of waste carriers. However, it takes a mode-neutral approach to waste transport and does not support rail. Only in the process of permitting a new operation of a waste management facility does it open up the room to prioritise certain modes of transport. Authorities can, therefore, prescribe the mode of transport for incineration plants or waste from transport buildings or restrict the transport of waste by road vehicles according to distance, for example, for municipal waste incineration plants or the removal of material from buildings for recycling.
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The Austrian example of ridding large cities and surrounding areas, in particular, of the burden of road vehicles is certainly worth considering from different angles. For example, some local railway lines would gain a new transport and economic perspective.