Wilfried Schönbäck

Long-term assessment of waste management options - a new, integrated and goal-oriented approach

Selected waste management scenarios were evaluated with regard to the goals of the Austrian Waste Management Act, taking into account long-term environmental protection and resource conservation as well as costs. Municipal solid waste (MSW) and sewage sludge have been chosen as the system inputs. The scenarios were compared to the status-quo scenario by combining Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and economic evaluation methods. Both, welfare-oriented Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Modified Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (MCEA) were applied for this assessment. Unlike CBA, MCEA takes into consideration long-term impacts of landfilled material in non-monetary terms. The results of the CBA correspond to those of the MCEA. Both evaluation methods confirm: If long-term effects are taken into account with the same weight irrespective of when they occur, the Austrian goals of waste management are reached more efficiently by thermal waste treatment scenarios than by mechanical-biological treatment scenarios or by landfilling without pre-treatment.

Egon Matzner 1938–2003

Egon Matzner wurde am 15. September 2003 vollig unerwartet aus dem Leben gerissen — wahrend des Lauftrainings im Kurpark in Wien-Oberlaa. Wie so oft in seinem Leben wollte er durch Sport seine Lust auf zwischenmenschlichen Austausch und seine geistige Schaffenskraft starken und sich fit halten fur seine Familie. Bis zur letzten Stunde seines Lebens zeigte er kaum eine Einbuse an Vitalitat.