Yesterday I visited the Fernwärme Wien in Spittelau, Vienna. It is a waste incineration plant in a building designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
My oldest brother, Shane, who normally lives in Taiwan is currently touring this part of Europe. He was visiting a good friend of ours, Peter, who lives in Hungary.
Peter is an architect of many years' experience. His son, PJ, is studying to become an architect. On their trip to Vienna, Peter wanted to see, amongst other things, the Hundertwasserhaus. I have learned over the years that architecture involves more than just arches and pretty roofs: architecture must serve function as well as form. I am extremely fortunate to know somebody who was able to arrange a tour of the inside Fernwärme incineration plant designed by Hundertwasser.
We arranged to meet at 10. There were five of us: my brother and Peter were staying at our new apartment. PJ and his friend, Zoli, were staying at the youth hostel just down the road from our place. I originally planned on starting off at 8am for several reasons, though only one hour should have been sufficient.
The first reason for the early start was that PJ and Zoli are young men who prefer to wake up around noon instead of 8. There were also probably out late the previous night drinking and making friends. Ah, the hostel experience! Anyway, Peter took off ahead of Shane and I to fetch the boys. By the time Shane and I arrived there at 8:15, everybody was ready to go. This was much earlier than I had expected.
We then walked to Hüttledorf station, on one end of the U4 underground line. Spittelau is one stop away from the other end of the U4. This is the second reason why I decided on an early start: I didn't know how long it would take to travel the whole length of the U4.
We arrived nearly an hour before our scheduled meeting. So, we had some coffee to kill the time.
We met Thomas, the man who arranged our tour. He explained to us some very interesting facts about the Fernwärme Wien organization and Wien Energie. We then met Alexander, who is a manager at the Hundertwasser plant. The interesting facts continued to be delivered by both of them for the next hour and more.
The city of Vienna, who owns the Fernwärme, has had a policy that there should be no landfills used to dispose of the city's waste. This is one reason why we have such strict recycling laws in Austria.
Waste is transported to the Fernwaerme. Despite being a dump -- literally! -- the only area that stinks is where the waste is deposited from the trucks. The air pressure in the chambers where the rubbish is deposited is manipulated so that the air, and therefore the odors, are drawn inside the incineration plant and away from the surrounding population. The plant is next to a university and not very far away from residential zones: in short, it is in the middle of an urban population.
When I (used to) think of trash burning, I had an image of a large pit and a box of matches, essentially. This is most definitely not the case. "Fernwärme" in English means "distance warming". The energy expended on burning the trash is also used to heat water that is then transported to public buildings and private residences throughout the city, providing heating in winter and warm showers year round.
The incineration process, as it is implemented at the Fernwärme, separates heavy metals, toxic gasses, and other hazardous materials from the piles of trash. After these wastes are separated, they are removed safely, for example, to deep within a salt mine. Some heavy metals are recycled. The sludge is used to line concrete at landfills. Additionally, the incineration process generates steam, which is transported to turn turbines, which generates electricity.
It seems almost like a perpetual motion machine. As a population, we generate waste. We also have a need for heat, hot water, and electricity. Our own waste generates these necessities in a relatively clean manner.
Partly because the plant is in the middle of the city, the emissions are kept well within safety limits -- under normal circumstances, 10% of maximum safety levels. Even if it weren't in the middle of a city, the emissions are kept low, despite being a burning process.
Thomas and Alexander were very helpful in not providing too much technically detailed information. Instead, they tailored their delivery so that those of us who aren't technicians were still able to understand a lot. We were all able to take away valuable information.
Peter and PJ were able to see not only all of the trademarks of Hundertwasser -- blues, organic shapes, reflective surfaces, tiles, and a hat -- but also how a complex set of machinery and environmental management processes fit within the architecture. Shane gathered much information about waste management and energy production so that he will be able to use when he and his colleagues teach English in environmental studies departments.
Me, I have developed an interest in (software) process management over the years. The plant is highly automated: each shift employs only 20 people or so, who control the machinery that converts untold tons of trash each day. The Hunderwasser/Spitelau incineration plant has been in in operation for over 30 years, and the processes have changed (and one hopes improved!) over the years, especially in light of increased automation; interestingly, the original processes are still documented and audited, even though they are obsolete. Throughout the plant, there are pictures and diagrams explaining the processes taking place just on the other side of the wall. There is continual measurement, analysis, and action based on the analysis. The methods of measurement and detectability of certain chemical compositions are continually improving, driving change and improvement in the waste management processes. All of these processes must be documented, repeatable, managed, and continually improving: otherwise, we'd all be in a stinky mess.
I would publicly like to thank Alexander and Thomas for taking the time out from their busy schedules as managers of two Fernwärme incineration plants. They pleasantly provided a handful of tourists with a wealth of information and education. Although none of us got used to the stink :-), we all greatly appreciate your friendly donation of time and information.
All photos © Shane Drews, 2008
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