Research

According to the three-pillar principle of BOKU (combination of technology, natural sciences and economic, social and legal sciences) we develop innovative concepts, methods and procedures

- for planning and evaluation of waste prevention measures,
- to close natural and anthropogenic material cycles,
- for low-emission waste treatment and
- for the aftercare and monitoring of landfills and old deposits.

The global interdependence of the economy and material flows requires waste flows to be analysed in a comprehensive context and cross-national solutions to be found.

Our current research areas are:

Latest Projects

Research project (§ 26 & § 27)
Duration : 2024-02-01 - 2025-09-30

The recovery of recyclable waste from mixed municipal waste is a high priority based on EU requirements (e.g. municipal waste recycling quota, recycling quotas for packaging), federal and state regulations. According to residual waste analyses for 2018/19, mixed municipal waste in the state of Salzburg comprises approx. 54% of recyclable waste materials, i.e. discards, which account for approx. 48,000 tonnes of mixed municipal waste per year. This mass flow (in addition to other recyclable waste materials in bulky municipal waste) must be reduced with targeted measures in order to conserve resources and reduce municipal expenditure. The project comprises the following service areas: 1. the online data collection of municipal waste balances via a survey portal, including quality assurance by means of automated plausibility checks and follow-up surveys, 2. the investigation of key factors influencing settlement structure (e.g. settlement density, number of overnight stays, household size) and their effects on municipal waste generation, residual waste composition and derived indicators (e.g. waste collection rates) in order to be able to quantitatively compare groups of municipalities with similar settlement structures (including across Austria) with regard to separate collection, 3. the investigation of the efficiency of relevant waste management measures (e.g. with regard to collection systems, connection rates, emptying intervals, container volumes) and their volume effects within groups of municipalities with the same settlement structure in order to be able to recognise and evaluate optimal bundles of measures in a regional comparison and also over time, 4. answering the research questions, and 5. summarising and recommending waste management measures for individual waste streams and regions as well as the potential for additional separate collection to be exploited.
Research project (§ 26 & § 27)
Duration : 2024-01-01 - 2026-06-30

Studies show that a significant proportion of plastic pollution in the sea, around 80 %, comes from rivers. Plastics that were previously considered non-degradable actually break down into microplastic particles when exposed to sunlight and fluctuating temperatures, for example. This realization has led to the plastic pollution of rivers has come under increased scrutiny. The updated Danube River Basin Management Plan 2021 of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) underlines the urgency of tackling plastic pollution as a top priority. The diverse partnership within AQPLA brings together a wide range of expertise, leading to the development of new solutions to the challenges of plastic pollution in rivers. The development and application of feasible methods for regular monitoring of microplastic pollution coupled with the use of remote sensing technologies and machine learning to detect macroplastics plays a crucial role in the detection and monitoring of litter particles in rivers. The use of citizen science should lead to active participation and engagement of communities and individuals in data collection and monitoring. The project will develop, test and implement environmentally friendly plastic waste traps for rivers that make better use of the natural power of river currents. In addition, concepts for separating the collected waste are to be developed within AQPLA. By including recycling in the clean-up activities, AQPLA reduces the overall costs of the measures and at the same time promotes a circular economy approach
Research project (§ 26 & § 27)
Duration : 2024-03-01 - 2024-08-31

Over a third of the food produced worldwide is lost along the entire value chain. Based on the revised EU Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC) as part of the Circular Economy Package, the European Union has therefore introduced a reporting obligation on the generation of food waste. The purpose of the reporting obligation is to monitor and evaluate the implementation of measures to prevent food waste by measuring the volume of food waste. The quantities of food waste are to be collected annually separately for the different stages of the value chain (primary production, processing and production, trade, gastronomy and private households). The aim of the project is to develop a methodological guideline for surveying the volume of food waste in South Tyrol in accordance with EU reporting requirements. The methods developed for each individual stage of the value chain should allow for regular monitoring to be carried out in the future in terms of administration and costs and enable efficient, transparent and comparable surveys.

Supervised Theses and Dissertations