A few days ago, I read that there were guided tours of the Spittelau incinerator, which I recently visited. I checked the website but there weren’t any imminent in English. There were a few for schoolchildren in German. I emailed them and asked if I could tag along to one of those tours! The person replied that I could if I didn’t mind listening to the German! So I booked myself onto the tour.
On the day, it took me longer than expected to get to the incinerator, which wasn’t helped by getting the train in the wrong direction. The nearest train station is situated in a place that allows you to go in either direction to get to the centre. The one you get depends on which train is due first and also when the connecting trains are due. More than once, I ended up going the slower way.
When I arrived at Spittelau, I told the receptionist that I was booked on a tour. She disappeared then came back and took me into a room where people (adults!) were watching a film. I wondered if I was in the wrong group. Where were the schoolchildren?!
The guide, someone with a real job at the plant, confirmed that I was booked on the tour!
He took us around the plant, most of which was closed to the public. Enough was open to give us an insight into its workings. The guide’s explanations helped too.
The rubbish goes through several stages:
- Delivery and storage. During weekdays, about a 1,000 tonnes of rubbish is brought to the plant and unloaded into a large bunker. Cranes mix the rubbish to create a more consistent fuel. Since there’s too much to process during the week, the plant catches up over the weekend.
- Incineration. The waste is burned at high temperatures (over 850°C). This reduces the waste by about 90% and destroys most of the organic material and pathogens.
- Energy recovery. The heat is used to produce steam, which generates electricity and supplies Vienna’s heating network. (Not everyone has a boiler.) This is the main purpose of the plant: to recover energy from the waste that can’t be reused or recycled.
- Cleaning the exhaust gases. Some of the releases include dust, particulates, acid gases, heavy metals, and other pollutants. These are treated and clean air is then released through the gold-and-blue chimney.
- Handling the ash. After all the above, ash remains. Metals are recovered and recycled. Some ash may be further processed, for example, to be used for construction. Hazardous waste is sent to specialised waste facilities.
The most spectacular part of the tour was when an animation was being shown on a screen. Then the screen went up and we were looking at the actual two giant mechanical cranes moving the rubbish to the incinerator.
About 30 people work in the plant and a further 100 in the office — that is, one real worker for three doing admin.
Of course, visiting the incinerator allowed me to see more of Hundertwasser’s fantastic work. The worker’s toilet is unique — and note the crooked lines in the car park!
There were a few places around Venice that I’d bookmarked and I went to those after finishing at Spittelau.
The Naschmarkt was a covered market. Above it, was a green space. A woman was singing rap songs with some graphic lyrics. I don’t know what some of the sober-looking audience made of it.
Finally, I went to phil – Cafe, bookshop & bar. This looked good but was incredibly busy. So I returned to my apartment.
