Municipal waste disposal, recycling and energy generation from residual waste, biowaste and recyclable materials in Cologne.
Abfallentsorgungs- und Verwertungsgesellschaft mbH Köln
Cologne-Niehl · Cologne-Heumar · Cologne-Merkenich · Erftstadt-LiblarNew on Amplifa
About AVG Köln
The Abfallentsorgungs- und Verwertungsgesellschaft mbH Köln (AVG Köln), as a company of the City of Cologne, treats and recovers household and bulky waste, biowaste, commercial waste and mineral waste. Its core facility is the residual waste incineration plant in Cologne-Niehl, commissioned in 1998, with four incineration lines (roller grates) that treat around 700,000 tonnes of waste per year and generate electricity and district heating via combined heat and power. In addition, the AVG Group operates a composting and anaerobic digestion plant, waste wood, commercial waste, bulky waste and paper processing plants, a fluff plant for refuse-derived fuels, and the Vereinigte Ville landfill in Erftstadt-Liblar with bottom ash processing. There, iron, aluminium, copper and stainless steels are recovered from the incineration residues and mineral constituents are processed into substitute construction materials. Around 500 employees at the Cologne and Erftstadt sites ensure the recovery of waste as a raw material and energy supplier for regional industrial customers such as the cement, wood-based materials and paper industries.
- Site
- Köln
- Processes
- Residual waste incineration (household and bulky waste, municipal waste) with combined heat and, Flue gas cleaning (5-stage: fabric filter, scrubbers 1 and 2, catalyst, lignite coke filter), Composting of biowaste (rotting in windrows, rotting hall, up to 70°C, 3-8 weeks), Anaerobic digestion of biowaste to biogas (fermenter, methane upgrading to town gas quality), Waste wood processing (shredding, metal separation, contaminant sorting), Commercial waste sorting (mechanical separation into material streams), Bulky waste processing (shredding, separation for material/thermal recovery), Paper processing (weighing, pre-sorting, separation into material streams)
- Materials
- Waste wood class A I to A IV, Bottom ash (mineral constituents: ash, slag, ceramics, glass, concrete), Iron (recovered from bottom ash), Aluminium (recovered from bottom ash), Copper (recovered from bottom ash), Stainless steels (from bottom ash, sensor sorting), Residual waste, household and bulky waste, Biowaste and green waste
- Certificates
- Specialist waste management company
- Employees
- ca. 500 (AVG Köln
- Industries
- Waste management, Recycling, Energy supply, Circular economy, Cement industry, Wood-based materials industry
- 01
Delivery by truck or rail
- 02
Pre-sorting and bunker storage
- 03
Thermal recovery (incineration)
- 04
Energy generation (electricity, steam, district heating)
- 05
Flue gas cleaning (5-stage)
- 06
Bottom ash processing and metal recovery
- 07
Material recovery (composting, processing)
Waste streams and processes
Residual waste, household and bulky waste
Thermal recovery in the residual waste incineration plant with combined heat and power.
Biowaste and green waste
Composting according to RAL quality criteria and anaerobic digestion to biogas of town gas quality.
Waste wood class A I to A IV
Processing into products for the wood-based materials industry and fuels for biomass power plants.
Commercial waste and sorting residues
Mechanical sorting into material streams such as wood, paper, metals and plastics.
Bottom ash
Multi-stage recovery of iron, aluminium, copper and stainless steels as well as processing into substitute construction materials.
Waste paper, cardboard, paperboard
Processing into raw material for paper mills (recycled paper, paperboard, cardboard).
Refuse-derived fuels (fluff)
Made from commercial waste and high-calorific production waste, among other uses for the cement industry.
Inert materials, construction rubble, foundry sands
Landfilling at the Vereinigte Ville landfill.
Sites and facilities
Cologne-Niehl (headquarters)
DEHeadquarters, residual waste incineration plant, composting and anaerobic digestion plant, waste wood processing,
- Materials
- Residual waste, bulky waste, biowaste, waste wood
- 4 incineration lines with roller grates
- Steam turbine (400 °C, 40 bar)
- 5-stage flue gas cleaning
- Rotting hall
- Fermenter
- Waste wood processing plant
- E-charging park (9 charging stations)
- 3 Mercedes-Benz eActros 400
Cologne-Heumar
DERecycling yard, bulky waste sorting plant
- Materials
- Bulky waste, recyclable materials
- Shredder systems
Cologne-Merkenich
DEPaper processing plant
- Materials
- Waste paper, cardboard
Erftstadt-Liblar
DEVereinigte Ville landfill, bottom ash processing
- Materials
- Inert materials, bottom ash
- Bottom ash processing and conditioning plant
- Gas extraction station, approx. 120 gas wells
- New bottom ash processing plant (project mephistorec, completion by mid-2027)
Secondary raw materials and products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residual waste incineration (household and bulky waste, municipal waste) with combined heat andOther (waste recovery/energy) | – | – | ca. 700 000 t/Jahr (Gesamtdurchsatz | – | Household waste (residual waste), Bulky waste, Commercial waste, Sorting residues |
| Flue gas cleaning (5-stage: fabric filter, scrubbers 1 and 2, catalyst, lignite coke filter)Surface (flue gas treatment) | – | – | – | – | Flue gas (dust, salts, sulphur, mercury) |
| Composting of biowaste (rotting in windrows, rotting hall, up to 70°C, 3-8 weeks)Other (waste treatment) | – | – | deutlich mehr als 100 000 t/Jahr | – | Biowaste, Green waste, organic commercial waste, digestate |
| Anaerobic digestion of biowaste to biogas (fermenter, methane upgrading to town gas quality)Other (waste treatment/energy) | – | – | rund 20 000 t/Jahr | – | Biowaste |
| Waste wood processing (shredding, metal separation, contaminant sorting)Other (waste recovery) | – | – | rund 120 000 t/Jahr | – | Waste wood class A I to A IV |
| Commercial waste sorting (mechanical separation into material streams)Other (waste recovery) | – | – | – | – | household-like commercial waste, Wood, Paper, Metals, Plastics, Films, Packaging mixtures |
| Bulky waste processing (shredding, separation for material/thermal recovery)Other (waste recovery) | – | – | mehr als 50 000 t/Jahr | – | municipal and commercial bulky waste |
| Paper processing (weighing, pre-sorting, separation into material streams)Other (waste recovery) | – | – | – | – | Waste paper, Cardboard, Paperboard, Newspapers, Magazines |
| Production of refuse-derived fuels (fluff plant: sieving, iron separation, near-infrared sorting,Other (waste recovery) | – | – | – | – | Commercial waste, Sorting residues, high-calorific production waste |
| Green waste processing (screening of compost products, biomass fuels)Other (waste recovery) | – | – | circa 15 000 t/Jahr | – | Green waste from park and landscape maintenance |
| Bottom ash processing (multi-stage metal recovery: iron/non-iron separators,Other (waste recovery) | detects metal particles of a few millimetres | – | – | – | Bottom ash, Iron, Aluminium, Copper, Stainless steels, metal-slag composites, mineral constituents |
| Landfilling of inert materials (ashes, construction rubble, soils, foundry sands)Other (waste treatment) | – | – | – | – | Inert materials, Ashes from industry and waste recovery, Construction rubble, Soils, Foundry sands |
13 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residual waste incineration plant with grate firing (roller grates, 4 incineration lines/boilers, 4 | – | 4 | Steam turbine: 400°C, 40 bar; flame temperatures up to 1200°C | 1998 | Cologne |
| Composting plant (rotting hall, biological filter systems) | – | 1 | – | 1995 | Cologne-Niehl |
| Anaerobic digestion plant (fermenter) | – | 1 | – | 2019 | Cologne-Niehl |
| Waste wood processing plant | – | 1 | covered storage areas, enclosed loading area | 2019 | Cologne-Niehl |
| Commercial waste sorting plant | – | 1 | – | – | Cologne |
| Bulky waste sorting plant with shredder systems | – | 2 | – | – | Cologne-Niehl and Cologne-Heumar |
| Paper processing plant | – | 1 | – | – | Merkenich |
| Fluff plant (refuse-derived fuel production with near-infrared sorting) | – | 1 | – | – | Cologne |
| Bottom ash processing and conditioning plant | – | 1 | – | betrieben | Erftstadt-Liblar |
| New bottom ash processing plant (several iron/non-iron separators, sensor sorters) under | Project mephistorec | 1 | – | Fertigstel | Erftstadt-Liblar |
| Vereinigte Ville landfill with gas extraction station and around 120 gas wells | – | 1 | – | – | Erftstadt-Liblar |
| E-charging park (nine charging stations, ten charging points: 6×160 kW, 2×240 kW, 2×400 kW | – | 9 | ca. 3 000 m² Arealfäche | 2025-2026 | Cologne-Niehl |
| E-truck Mercedes-Benz eActros 400 (tipper semi-trailer, 2×207 kWh, LFP) | Mercedes-Benz eActros 400 | 3 | – | – | Cologne-Niehl |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and certification
AVG Ressourcen is certified as a specialist waste management company. The flue gas values of the residual waste incineration plant are continuously recorded in the measurement house and reported via data line to the Cologne district government for monitoring.
| Evidence | Cologne-Niehl | Erftstadt-Liblar |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist waste management company |
History
- 1970
The City of Cologne takes over a partial area of the Vereinigte Ville site for waste landfilling.
- 1995
Commissioning of the composting plant Cologne-Niehl (October).
- 1998
Commissioning of the residual waste incineration plant (first waste fire on 2 January, inauguration on 26 February); handover of landfill operations to AVG.
- 2019
Commissioning of the anaerobic digestion plant and the waste wood processing plant.
- 2023
Planning approval for the expansion of the Vereinigte Ville landfill.
- 2024
Start of the funded project mephistorec for the new bottom ash processing (funding reference number 67KSM0113).
- 2025
Commissioning of the e-charging park with nine charging stations and the first three e-trucks (Mercedes-Benz eActros 400) for bottom ash transport.