Regional differences in German waste treatment prices

There were differing trends in the German municipal waste treatment market in 2011 across the various regions of the country. Prices on the spot market recorded a slight increase in the South and the West, but continued to fall in the North and the East of Germany, according to the findings of a nationwide market survey carried out by EUWID among operators of waste-to-energy incineration plants and mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plants. As in previous years, the lowest price was reported in the East, where commercial waste could be incinerated for as low as €35/tonne.

Overall, the market participants expect hardly any movement in the spot market in the coming years and believe that bigger changes will occur in the treatment prices for wastes such as household waste whose management must be organised by the local public waste authority under German legislation. Various contracts in this area will run out in 2015, with the public tenders for the subsequent period expected to lead to substantial price cuts.

The full market report was published in this week's print and e-paper issue of EUWID Recycling and Waste Management. Readers with an online subscription can also access the report in the markets section of our website.