In June 2005, the Magdeburg-Rothensee waste-to-energy plant (MHKW Rothensee) was put into operation in the traditional industrial area of Rothensee on the outskirts of Magdeburg, the capital city of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt. As a service provider, the company behind the plant maintains a consistent focus on the specific waste disposal needs of its municipal and commercial customers. The MHKW Rothensee offers its customers a cutting-edge system solution that guarantees the efficient and environmentally friendly treatment of residual waste. Around 250 million € were invested in the project, and as a result, the MHKW Rothensee also plays a strong role in the economy of the region. The MHKW Rothensee is currently able to convert approximately 1,000,000 tons of household rubbish and similar waste into electricity and district heating. It is therefore one of the largest waste-to-energy plants in the whole of Germany.
We dispose of
1 million tons
of waste per year.
Kraftwerk-Privatweg 7 | 39126 Magdeburg | Germany
Plant regulations for waste deliveries
NO deliveries by private individuals!
Delivery times:
Monday - Friday, 6:00am - 10:00pm
We supply
44,000 households
with CO₂-neutral heat every year.
Here in Germany, we produce approximately 400 million tons of waste every year. Each resident throws away around 200 kg of this waste as residual waste. Household rubbish and bulky waste make up the majority of all residual waste, but back in 2005, Germany closed its public landfill sites. So where should all this waste go? The best solution would be to avoid waste altogether, and although this is indeed possible to a certain degree, a future without waste is infeasible. We therefore require smart concepts, just like those in use at the MHKW Rothensee. The amount of waste that remains after thermal treatment is just 10% of the original waste volume. Ferrous and non-ferrous metals are removed from this residue and reused, while the rest is used in road construction, controlled landfill construction or to fill tunnels in former mines.
Every year, 1,000,000 tons of waste are thermally treated in the five incineration lines in the three blocks of the MHKW Rothensee. This treatment generates heat, which is then used to produce steam. The steam produced in each block powers a high-performance turbine. Like bicycle dynamos, the turbines in the two generators rotate. In doing so, they generate 370,000 MWh of green electricity, which is fed into the power grid of the public utility company Städtische Werke Magdeburg (SWM) and supplied to more than 40,000 households and businesses. The steam that powers the turbines, approx. 350,000 MWh, is subsequently fed into the district heating network, where it flows through well-isolated pipes to provide more than 44,000 private and commercial premises with green district heat. The terms “green electricity” and “green heat” refer to the fact that more than 60% of the household and commercial waste treated is comprised of biogenic material. As a result, the waste ignites spontaneously due to the high temperatures and is self-combustible. These properties allow us to save huge amounts of fuels such as coal and oil and also lead to impressive savings with regard to emissions of the climate-damaging fossil CO2 that has been locked in these fuels for millions of years. Learn in detail how the Rothensee waste-to-energy plant operates here.
Even though many of your household waste items are ultimately disposed of at our power plant, direct delivery of waste from private households to the MHKW Rothensee is not permitted for legal reasons. Instead, please make use of the recycling centers operated by our municipal partners, which offer delivery options in addition to pickup services. For more information on locations and opening hours, please contact the responsible counties, cities, and municipalities. Help us ensure an orderly waste management system in both urban and rural areas.