The garbage business
Garbage fees are not the same in all communities. While in one district EUR 130 per ton is incurred, in another district it is EUR 232. The “Fritz List” wanted to find out how this price difference came about. However, Markus Sint, member of the state parliament, finds the content of the state government’s response “incredible and not in order”.
Around 125,000 tons of residual waste and bulky waste accumulate in Tyrol every year, more than half of it in the districts of Innsbruck, Innsbruck-Land and Schwaz. The “Liste Fritz” representative was able to find out the figures for 2019. In a press conference, he announced that it is not easy to get transparent figures on waste in Tyrol.
The price differences
At the Kitzbühel Waste Management Association, a ton of waste will cost 130 euros in 2021, while the same amount of waste in Kufstein will cost 232 euros. In the districts of Innsbruck-Stadt, Innsbruck-Land and Schwaz, the charges amount to 195 euros per tonne of waste, and a mechanical waste treatment plant IS also operated there, is the answer to the state parliament question from MP Sint.
Sint was not able to fully find out from the Tyrolean state government why there are these different garbage charges between the districts and municipalities. According to state councilor Ingrid Felipe, the calculations by the various waste management associations are trade secrets and should not be made public.
criticism of secrecy
“I find that unbelievable and not okay,” said Markus Sint at the press conference. “The waste management associations are not private companies, but companies of communities and citizens. I don’t think it’s okay that the paying citizen isn’t allowed to know how the costs are incurred.”
According to Sint, a member of the state parliament, the fact that the districts of Innsbruck-Stadt, Innsbruck-Land and Schwaz have the second most expensive garbage fees can be related to the mechanical waste treatment plant. There, recyclable materials, especially metals, are removed from the garbage in order to recycle them. This facility has been around since 2011 and has cost around 20 million euros. The remaining waste was transported to Upper Austria.
Is the Tyrolean waste plant pointless?
Sint raises the question of whether the Tyrolean system is pointless. Because the member of parliament suspects that the system anticipates a work step that has to be done in Upper Austria anyway. “Will this result in unnecessary costs in Tyrol?” Sint asks himself. When asked whether it would be profitable to get the recyclables out in Tyrol, he did not receive any information. “These business secrets must be put an end to,” demands the “List Fritz” MP.