Employment Effects of Waste Management Models for Residual Waste Treatment

By waste and resource management, waste is processed into reusable and marketable materials. These can be used as secondary raw materials or be energetically utilised as substitute fuels. As a result of European legal requirements (e.g., the EU Circular Economy Package), sophisticated waste management is gaining increasing socio-political importance. This provides for an increase in the quality and quantity of the recycling of municipal and industrial waste and potentially generates added economic value. The study quantifies indirect and induced employment and value-added effects of different models of residual waste treatment with the help of a macroeconomic model of the Austrian economy (WIFO.DYNK). Direct job effects for Austria were calculated model-specifically by Altendorfer (2018). The results show consistently positive employment and value-added effects. The more complex the waste management of residual waste fractions, the higher the labour requirement.