Recycling of tunnel spoil – laws affecting waste from mining and tunnelling / Wiederverwertung von Tunnelausbruchmaterial – Abfallrecht im Berg‐ und Tunnelbau

Abstract

Tunnel spoil material is categorised for the purpose of the laws regulating waste disposal as “excavated materials”, which represents the largest waste stream by quantity in Austria. The goal of avoiding waste has become more important with the implementation of the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC at the end of 2010. Recycling of material excavated from tunnels is thus more than ever an important issue. This article explains the opportunities and hindrances posed by waste law in Austria and describes some possible future developments, potential synergies and offers a legal comparison with the primary raw materials industry. It appears that the legal framework is not completely satisfactory and there is also a need for further technical guidelines.Tunnelausbruchmaterial gehört abfallrechtlich zur Kategorie des “Aushubmaterials”, welches den mengenmäßig größten Abfallstrom in Österreich darstellt. Das Ziel der Abfallvermeidung hat durch die Umsetzung der Abfallrahmenrichtlinie 2008/98/EG Ende 2010 weiter an Gewicht gewonnen, Wiederverwendung von Tunnelausbruchmaterial ist somit aktueller denn je. Der vorliegende Artikel beleuchtet die Chancen und Hindernisse, die das Abfallrecht in Österreich dafür bietet und zeigt mögliche zukünftige Entwicklungen auf. Dabei werden potenzielle Synergien und ein rechtlicher Vergleich mit der Primärrohstoffindustrie dargestellt. Es zeigt sich, dass die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen noch nicht ganz zufriedenstellend sind und auch der Bedarf nach technischen Regelwerken besteht.

Operational Decision Support for Material Management in Continuous Mining Systems: From Simulation Concept to Practical Full-Scale Implementations

“…An implication that can be drawn from the results is the possibility of using the simulation modeling approach as an operational decision support. The proposed method can also be applied in other research areas such of waste management or recycling of material excavated from tunnels [15,16]. The next section concludes the main findings of this study.…”

Recycling or landfill – Experience based on the example of Koralm Tunnel, contract KAT2 from design to construction

“…With the maximum degree of recycling of excavated material, the requirement of area and volume for intermediate and final tipping are reduced, natural resources are saved and the surrounding transport infrastructure is not additionally loaded. This also necessitated clarification of the ownership of tunnel spoil, which belongs to the land owner under Austrian law [6].…”

“…Durch die maximale Wiederverwertung von Ausbruchmaterial werden der Flächen-und Volumenverbrauch für eine zwischenzeitliche und endgültige Deponierung reduziert, natürliche Ressourcen geschont und die umliegende Verkehrsinfrastruktur nicht zusätzlich belastet. Dabei waren auch die Eigentümerverhältnisse des anfallenden Tunnelausbruchmaterials, das gemäß österreichischem Recht den Grundeigentümern zusteht, zu klären [6].…”

Mesocosm Experiments at a Tunnelling Construction Site for Assessing Re-Use of Spoil Material as a By-Product

“…It is handled in different ways worldwide. At the EU level, specific guidelines for excavated material management are contained in the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC [4,5]. The latter describes the technical characteristics required for spoil material re-use/recycling, considering both environmental protection and the costs of treatment or use as a virgin raw material.…”

“…They highlighted that the final destination of this material needs to be considered with care, in particular to protect the water compartment. This aspect is not always considered in the framework of spoil material handling at a European level [4,5]. Worksite management of spoil material has to be performed in major construction projects [13] in accordance with the national legislations (e.g., Italian Decrees 161/2012 and 120/2017 [14,15]).…”