The Vienna Model exemplifies the circular economy
In 2015, the European Commission has set up an Action Plan which aims to reduce the volume of waste and recycle waste in a more environmentally-friendly and resource-saving manner. Austria ranks among the leaders in the EU given the waste management measures that had already been taken, and Wien Energie has a role to play here. In combination with Wien Energie’s other energy-related services, the Vienna Model for thermally recycling household waste around 800,000 t of municipal waste, 200,000 t of sewage sludge and 100,000 t of industrial and commercial waste is a showcase model for efficiently providing around 1.4 million customers with electricity, heating and natural gas. The high level of efficiency achieved by Wien Energie saves up to three million tonnes of CO2 every year.
Background information
The EU’s Circular Economy Package is intended to help promote sustainable economic growth and create new jobs. Austria is already among the leaders in Europe as a result the measures it has already taken. With its Vienna Model and the focus on thermally processing non-recyclable household waste, Wien Energie showcases how energy released can be harnessed and recycled for use as district heating and to produce electricity.

“We generate electricity and heating both efficiently and sustainably in our waste incineration plant at Spittelau. Around 60 percent of the energy produced every year from waste incineration stems from biogenic or renewable sources. We will be able to maintain our leading position in Europe thanks to ongoing work to optimise the plant and make even more efficient use of the energy resources contained in waste.”
We’ll show how it’s done
Learn more about our showcase projects
Sewage sludge drying
Wien Energie has developed an innovative process for the digestion, dehydration, drying and incineration of sewage sludge to produce environmentally-friendly district heating. 40,000 tonnes CO2 can thus be saved every year. An additional, environmentally-friendly advantage of the process is that phosphorus can be recovered.
Spittelau waste incineration plant
The Spittelau waste incineration plant processes around 250,000 tonnes of household waste every year to produce environmentally-friendly heating and electricity. Around 60 percent of the energy produced every year from waste incineration stems from renewable sources.
The Vienna Model
The model combines the use of waste heat from power generation (cogeneration), the generation of energy from waste, the utilisation of industrial heat and the use of renewable energy sources. This saves three million tonnes of CO2 every year.