Waste suction system

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Outer pipe of the garbage extraction system at Mombertplatz in Heidelberg / Emmertsgrund

In an automated vacuum collection or Müllsauganlage the waste in apartment buildings in is chutes and in detached areas in input locations inserted in the open and transported over a public network of pipes with a vacuum pneumatically to a collection point from which it is transported by vehicles to the landfill. The first waste suction system was used in Sollefteå Hospital Stockholm in 1967. The first plant in the Federal Republic of Germany was built in 1972 in the Olympic Village in Munich by the German subsidiary Envac of the Swedish company Centralsug and put into operation (closure discussed since September 2017, decided in March 2018). In 1973, waste extraction systems were put into operation in Bonn - Tannenbusch (in operation from 1973, shut down since January 1, 2010) and in Heidelberg - Emmertsgrund (in operation from October 3, 1973, shut down since May 31, 2004). In Berlin there was a garbage extraction system on Schlangenbader Strasse (inaugurated in 1982, closure has been discussed since 2007, shut down in 2015). In the Kalasatama district of the Finnish capital Helsinki , a waste extraction system for a new housing estate with separation of the different types of waste was put into operation in 2015, which is supposed to serve up to 20,000 households. Worldwide (as of 2015) around 600 waste suction systems are in use in 30 countries.

Waste extraction system in the Olympic village of Munich

This system was built with a network of 3 km length as the first waste suction system in Germany by the company Centralsug and put into operation in 1972.

After the introduction of waste separation, the capacity utilization of the system decreased continuously, so that an attempt was made to collect packaging waste via separate lines. The increasing improper disposal of unauthorized waste materials and hazardous substances such as bulky waste, packaging waste, wound materials, diapers or syringes led to more and more failures and ultimately to a complete standstill of the system. An incident occurred on September 3, 2017, when the operations manager suffered respiratory poisoning due to illegal disposal of unauthorized chemical substances in the plant, which eventually escaped at the collection point at headquarters. These and other incidents led to the plant being shut down until further notice in September 2017 and a damage report being commissioned from the manufacturer. Since the estimated costs (one-time repair approx. 500,000 euros, complete restoration of the system approx. 4 million euros), according to the assessment by the Olympiadorf-Betriebs-Beteiligungsgesellschaft (ODBG), were not in proportion to the expected usability, and there was no prospect of long-term operability was given, it was decided in March 2018 to prepare for the shutdown and to permanently switch to the conventional waste disposal in conventional garbage cans, which had already been set up to bridge the standstill, although the conventional disposal in terms of expected average monthly costs (46,500 euros) was only slightly below the average Operating costs of the waste extraction system (48,000 euros) were; however, the decision to decommission was based on the additional costs due to repairs not included in these costs, i. H. the risk of renewed business interruption and the occurrence of cost-intensive restoration measures due to incorrect throw-ins in large numbers. In December 2018, it was decided to request a cost estimate for the new construction of a plant from the successor company Envac, as the advantages would not necessarily outweigh the disadvantages.

Waste extraction system in Heidelberg-Emmertsgrund

Waste separation in the Heidelberg-Emmertsgrund waste suction system from 1997

This plant was built and put into operation in eight construction phases between October 3, 1973 and 1981. In the high-rise buildings there were insertion chutes on every floor and in the streets of the terraced houses there were flat input points in the open air. This was very comfortable for the residents.

The system was designed and built by Centralsug GmbH. When the system was built, the intake system and the pipe network were designed for operation for 30 years. The construction of the facility cost 6.5 million DM in 1992. The capacity was planned for 12,000 inhabitants, but only approx. 6500 inhabitants were connected to the system, as the district concept changed and instead of the planned multi-storey development, rather small residential units were realized were.

For the collection of residual waste and yellow bags via the waste suction system

In the interests of avoiding waste, from the mid-1980s onwards, paper and waste glass were disposed of separately in collection points, which were then emptied by corresponding vehicles. As a result of the introduction of the packaging regulations ( yellow sack ) in 1991, the "yellow rubbish" in sacks also had to be collected conventionally. In 1992, the Heidelberg City Council decided to close the facility as part of an immediate program to avoid a future waste emergency . This met with a largely negative attitude of the population, so that in 1996 the municipal council decided to continue operating the plant for the time being as long as this was technically possible.

In a self-test by the city of Heidelberg, starting November 15, 1997, packaging waste was disposed of in special yellow bags via the waste suction system for several years . The introduction was accompanied by multilingual posters because of the high proportion of the population with a migration background . However, many of the yellow and gray bags arrived at the central suction point ripped open due to damage to the pipe system. In 1999 a new concept for the separate disposal of waste and recyclables in the district of Emmertsgrund was decided by the local council. After that, only residual waste was disposed of through the facility. The amount of waste that was disposed of via the waste suction system in 1999 was only around a third of the originally forecast amount.

Already in the 1990s there were enormous problems with the suction pressure, as the garbage suction pipes became dilapidated. Due to the narrow cross-section, repairs were very expensive. Attempts were made to counteract the wear and tear of the pipes with so-called plastic inliners . However, this method has not proven itself, since the inserted plastic pipes have become detached from the base material. In 1993, the trade supervisory authority prohibited people from entering the pipes, even for maintenance purposes. Due to the sharp rise in renovation costs and high operating costs, the garbage extraction system was gradually switched off from 2000. While there were around five blockages per year up to 2002, these occurred almost weekly in 2003, although the amount of waste has already been reduced by over 70% through the successive decoupling of some large residential complexes. The reasons for the frequent problems were leaks in the pipe system.

According to the city of Heidelberg in 2003, trouble-free continued operation of the garbage extraction system would only be possible with a complete overhaul. The costs for this have been carefully estimated at around 20 million euros. Since conventional garbage disposal is much cheaper, the Heidelberg City Council decided on July 23, 2003 to shut down the garbage extraction system after many legal issues had been clarified. The final shutdown of the former flagship project took place on May 31, 2004.

The pipelines were filled up to the surface by the city of Heidelberg.

Waste extraction system in Bonn-Tannenbusch

This plant has been shut down since January 1st, 2010. Since the beginning of the 1970s it served up to 12,000 residents of the Bonn- (Neu-) Tannenbusch district for waste disposal. It was the largest garbage collection system in the world. It comprised a network of suction pipes approx. 12 kilometers long and 200 insertion shafts (100 permanently installed in apartment buildings and high-rise buildings, 100 in the open air).

In 1991 the Packaging Ordinance came into force in Germany . After the introduction of the yellow bins or the yellow garbage bags for packaging waste, the Tannenbuscher system was only intended to collect what is known as residual waste.

During the approx. 40 years of its operation, approx. 50,000 tons of household waste were disposed of with this waste suction system. With a transport speed of approx. 90 km / h, garbage bags or even loose rubbish reached a collection point in the “Hohe Straße” industrial estate. From there, the transport route continued by container and truck to the waste incineration plant in Bonn-Endenich.

Misuse and damage have made this form of waste disposal increasingly expensive and less environmentally friendly. Even hazardous waste and slaughterhouse waste from private households got into the facility and had to be recovered at great expense. In addition, incorrectly thrown heavy objects damaged the underground pipelines and tore holes in their walls.

This damage could usually not be recognized and repaired promptly, so that large amounts of soil were sucked in at various points by operating the suction fan. The resulting cavities under the earth's surface sometimes caused damage to the roadways and other surfaces above. The risk of a break-in, which could result in damage to the building or even to personal injury, prompted the responsible authorities to stop operating the Tannenbuscher waste extraction system.

In March 2007, the city council of Bonn decided to shut down the waste extraction system from autumn 2009. Several feed chutes were closed prematurely, the last at the turn of the year 2009/2010. A dismantling of the plant is planned. The dismantling of the system cost around 1.5 million euros, and the environmental department had previously estimated the total dismantling of the system, i.e. backfilling the pipes and demolishing the 150 filling stations, at 4 million euros.

Waste extraction system in Karlsruhe city center east

An underground waste suction system has been in operation in the Karlsruhe city center since 1982 in the area between Kaiserstraße - Adlerstraße - Kriegsstraße - Kapellenstraße - Waldhornstraße.

The center of this pneumatic waste disposal system, including the container station, is located in the basement of the multi-storey car park at Fritz-Erler-Straße crossing Zähringerstraße.

Since this plant no longer meets the waste management requirements - no waste fractions can be separated - and there is a problematic supply of spare parts, this plant will be shut down from 2020 and waste disposal will be switched to garbage bins. It is planned that the changeover will be completed in 2024.

Various attempts were made to separate waste in the late 1990s. Among other things, an attempt was made to vacuum only certain types of waste on certain days or to separate the waste fractions using different plastic bags. In the absence of success, this was discontinued and the entire waste was thermally recycled as residual waste. In the area there are voluntarily set up recycling bins through which some of the recyclable materials can be recorded.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ From dust to waste. Vacuum system history. Envac Group AB, accessed May 2, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b The Olympic village is losing its rubbish chutes. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. March 30, 2018, accessed May 2, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Birgitt Eltzel, Claudia Fuchs: Shift in the shaft. In: Berliner Zeitung . November 30, 2010, accessed October 10, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Tenant information "Schlange" (Schlangenbader Str. 1/2015). (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: degewo-Mieterinformation. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016 ; accessed on January 8, 2016 .
  5. ↑ In Helsinki, a mega vacuum cleaner is replacing garbage collection. In: welt.de. July 17, 2015, accessed May 2, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b c d Information on the shutdown of the waste facility. (No longer available online.) In: ODBG website. September 20, 2017, archived from the original on May 3, 2018 ; accessed on May 2, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.odbg-muenchen.de
  7. ^ Waste disaster in the Olympic village - garbage facility broken since September. (with pictures of the plant). In: tz Munich. January 4, 2018, accessed May 2, 2018 .
  8. ^ Garbage extraction system broken since September: "We are angry". In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. December 21, 2017, accessed May 2, 2018 .
  9. ^ Investigation of the garbage facility by the Envac company. Communication dated November 2, 2017. (No longer available online.) In: ODBG website. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018 ; accessed on May 2, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.odbg-muenchen.de
  10. ↑ ODBG village announcement December 2018. Retrieved on April 3, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Closure of the Emmertsgrund garbage extraction system. a) objection proceedings b) judicial settlement. City of Heidelberg, April 30, 2004, accessed on October 10, 2015 (draft resolution).
  12. ^ Social City of North Rhine-Westphalia, Federal City of Bonn: Integrated Action Concept Bonn-Neu-Tannenbusch. Urban and regional planning Dr. Jansen GmbH, September 2009, accessed on October 10, 2015 .
  13. ^ Tannenbusch: In the future, conventional garbage disposal. (No longer available online.) City of Bonn, 2009, archived from the original on November 15, 2009 ; Retrieved December 28, 2012 (press release).
  14. ↑ Remnants of the Bonn-Tannenbusch waste extraction system are being dismantled. City of Bonn, October 8, 2012, accessed on December 28, 2012 (press release).
  15. ↑ Peter Heuchemer: Garbage extraction system has had its day and is being demolished . In: Kölnische Rundschau . January 6, 2010 ( rundschau-online.de ).

Web links

Commons : Garbage  Collection - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Jinhee Park: A short episode of the new garbage collection technology - the garbage suction system . In: From the dump to waste management . The development of household waste disposal in West Berlin from 1945 to 1990. Technical University, Berlin 2004, p. 123–129 ( kobv.de - history of waste suction systems, e.g. waste suction system Berlin Schlangenbader Strasse).
  • Rolf Kleinfeld: Cracks in the asphalt alert the city . In: General-Anzeiger . November 21, 2008 ( general-anzeiger-bonn.de [accessed October 10, 2015]).
  • The ailing waste suction system. (PDF) Local law. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on June 11, 2007 ; accessed on October 10, 2015 (VRaVG Karsten Harms, course "Administrative Law Practice", University of Mannheim SS 2005).