Waste Transport: ÖBB Rail Cargo Group and FCC Austria Save 400 Tonnes of CO2 Annually



(Vienna, June 17, 2024) - For 20 years, ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) and the waste management company FCC Austria Abfall Service AG have been demonstrating how sustainable waste management and efficient end-to-end logistics can go hand in hand. At the heart of this success story is the transport of municipal waste for thermal recycling. Every year, RCG transports tens of thousands of tonnes of waste for FCC Austria. Around 19,000 tonnes alone come from the Tirol West Waste Association in Roppen. This waste is transported across the country to Zistersdorf in Lower Austria.


Efficient end-to-end logistics solution
RCG handles the entire repertoire in the supply chain – from door to door. The MOBILER truck takes the waste from Roppen to the Ötztal/Imst railway station in Tyrol, about six kilometres away. It then travels by rail on the main route through Austria to the industrial siding in Zistersdorf (Lower Austria), where the waste is unloaded by MOBILER truck at the recycling plant.


The multimodal solution therefore includes the main leg on sustainable rail in single wagonload transport and the first and last mile using innovative MOBILER logistics as well as the provision of the required equipment. “This includes specially manufactured 30-foot MOBILER bulk containers, which have been further developed together with FCC in order to increase the payload and thus transport municipal waste even more efficiently,” says Christopher Prax-Huber, Segment Manager Environmental Solutions at RCG. In single wagonload transport, four of these containers are transported per eight-axle carrier wagon.


Exciting insights are available here: From Waste to Wow – Multimodal Transport of Waste with FCC and Rail Cargo Group (youtube.com)

A partnership that sets standards
The basis for the 20-year joint logistics journey is the trusting and solution-oriented cooperation between FCC Austria and RCG. “RCG is an important partner for us because these modern container systems allow us to transport large quantities of waste efficiently and in a climate-friendly manner. The handling takes place directly at our site with the MOBILER truck,” says Günter Hickl, Operations Manager of FCC Zistersdorf Abfall Service GmbH. Finding solutions together, improving each other and ultimately benefiting as partners – that is the goal, adds Georg Kraxner, authorised signatory of FCC Austria Abfall Service AG: “The motivation was to transport waste over a long distance. We started talking to the RCG about it. Since then, we have been transporting considerable quantities by rail to our thermal recycling plant. That's around 70,000 tonnes per year.”

Economical and sustainable
The collaboration proves that it is possible to reconcile economic goals with the protection of our planet, while setting new standards in the waste management and logistics industry. The savings of around 400 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year speak for themselves. “What's more, thermal recycling generates additional energy. In Zistersdorf, we thermally recycle the waste and ultimately generate energy for up to 20,000 households or industries,” says Nora Bohrn, Head of Corporate Sustainability at FCC Environment CEE GmbH.

In line with the Waste Management Act
The transports also comply with the amended Waste Management Act, which says that waste must be transported by rail from a distance of 200 kilometres. Wolfgang Riedl, Business Unit Manager at RCG: “RCG will invest 75 million euros in new equipment by 2026. This consists of container wagons and special MOBILER containers. This means that all types of waste will be transported in accordance with the Waste Management Act both now and in the future.”

FCC Austria Abfall Service AG
FCC Austria Abfall Service AG is an Austrian waste management company headquartered in Himberg, which provides resource management and citizen services to municipalities, industrial, commercial and retail companies as well as private individuals. FCC won the tender for waste transport on the basis of its sustainable rail concept.

ÖBB Rail Cargo Group
As a leading rail logistics provider in Europe, we are shaping the industry. 365 days a year – 24 hours a day. Across Europe and beyond into Asia. With our presence in 18 countries, we connect people, businesses and markets – from the first to the last mile. It’s  thanks to our 5,912 logistics professionals that 419,000 trains a year, respectively 1,150 a day, reach their destinations safe and sound. With our efficient end-to-end logistics services, we transport over 78 million net tonnes of freight each year. Operational management of the Rail Cargo Group lies with Rail Cargo Austria AG.