THE ROLE OF WASTE INCINERATION IN GERMANY

In the late 19th century, the lack of appropriate waste collection and disposal systems in Europe along with public health issues – the outbreak of epidemics such as the cholera – raised the question: How can waste volumes be reduced and how can waste be managed more hygienically? This marked the beginning of the age of “technical waste incineration“. The first waste incineration plant known as Destructor was built in Nottingham, England in 1876. Following expe- rience with waste incineration in Manchester, the introduction of this technolo- gy was also discussed in Germany.
The first waste incineration plant in Germany was built in 1894/95 in the wake of the last major cholera outbreak in Hamburg. This so-called “waste incinera- tion works” took up operation in Bullerdeich, Hamburg on 1 January 1896, disposing of the waste of the city’s 300,000 inhabitants.
Thus, the foundations had been laid for a new method of waste treatment which proved to be viable not only from health and environmental aspects but also economically.