Waste Manager – Appointment

Companies with more than 100 employees.

• For the appointment:
  • Notification, no specific requirements as to the form
  • Consent from the waste manager
  • Information about the technical qualification of the waste manager
• For the dismissal:
  • Notification, no specific requirements as to the form

No expert information is available.

Any appointment or dismissal of waste managers has to be reported without delay.

In companies with more than 100 employees a technically qualified waste manager (Abfallbeauftragter) must be appointed.

The waste manager is tasked with providing advice and information relating to all issues concerning waste management in business operation. She/He must:

• Monitor compliance with the waste regulations applicable to the company and the notices based thereupon and inform the owner of the company of any observations, in particular of any observed deficiencies, without delay
• Work towards a useful implementation of the waste regulations applicable to the company
• Advise the owner of the company in waste management issues (including the waste management aspects of procurement)
• Present the costs of waste treatment and waste material yields to the owner of the company within the scope of preparing or updating the waste management plan (Abfallwirtschaftsplan)

The appointment of a waste manager does not affect the responsibility of the company owner to ensure compliance with the waste regulations and notices based thereupon. This means that the waste manager cannot be held responsible for the compliance with waste regulations.

Costs depend on various ordinances on levies and fees. It is recommendable to gather information from the competent authority beforehand.

Section 11 of the Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz 2002 (AWG 2002)

The waste manager must meet certain minimum requirements.

General requirements (minimum requirements):

• Full capacity to act
• Clear view of all waste-related processes at the company
• Relevant technical or legal know-how (either from technical training or from several years of practical work in the relevant field)

Knowledge (minimum requirements):

• Basic knowledge of
  • fundamentals of natural science and waste management
  • basic chemical-biological and ecological interrelations
  • the situation/objectives of waste management in Austria
  • the Umweltinformationsgesetz 2004
  • the Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfungsgesetz
  • the Umweltmanagementgesetz
  • environmental criminal law, environmental liability
• Profound knowledge about
  • the Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz 2002
  • the ordinances relevant to the activity of the company relating to the Abfallwirtschaftsgesetz
  • the EU Waste Shipment Regulation
  • the Altlastensanierungsgesetz
  • provisions from the relevant provincial waste management laws and ordinances that are of relevance
• Recommended know-how in
  • opportunities concerning the subsidisation of environmental investments
  • public relations work, staff motivation
  • technical standards in connection with the establishment and operation of temporary storage facilities
  • technical and legal requirements concerning the packaging and the transport of waste(legislation on hazardous goods)

Meldung der Abfallbeauftragten/des Abfallbeauftragten (download)

Related Links

• → Information leaflet "Abfallbeauftragter" (→ BMK)^{German Text}
• → WIFI^{German text}
• → BFI^{German text}

The waste management authority which is locally in charge of the company site:

• The district administrative authority^{German text} (Bezirkshauptmannschaft)
• In statutory cities^{German text}: the municipal administration^{German text} (Magistrat)
  • In Vienna: the municipal administration department → MA 22^{German text} (Vienna Department of Environmental Protection)