Sufficient waste volumes are currently available on the market and German waste-to-energy (wte) plants do not appear to be concerned about shortfalls this winter. There were only very rare gaps in supply, so there are a few spot-market offers to treat commercial waste for €80 per tonne. Overall, however, the gate fees for incinerating non-hazardous waste are stable and the spot market is not playing much of a role. If anything, the prices on the spot market are lower than those of contractually agreed volumes, as there are not enough volumes around to justify higher prices, market participants say.
However, compared to a few years ago – before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine – gate fees for non-hazardous waste at dedicated energy recovery facilities have risen. The reasons for this, according to market participants, include aging plants that require more frequent maintenance downtimes and increasing costs for ash disposal, personnel and transport. Transport costs in particular are a major factor, says one raw materials trader. These have risen considerably since Germany raised the motorway tolls for heavy goods vehicles (HGV) as of 1 December.
In addition, a new national CO2 charge will be applied to emissions from the incineration of waste from 1 January 2024 under Germany’s Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG).
Read the full market report and access the overview of current treatment prices broken down by region here:
