Environmental engineering at PORR

PORR Umwelttechnik GmbH works in a wide range of environmental engineering areas. Our core competencies involve planning and executing the removal of pollutants and contaminated sites, as well as demolishing every type of structure. Our portfolio also includes the transport and recycling of demolition and construction waste, the treatment of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, as well as numerous other environmental engineering services. This allows us to provide our customers with complete solutions that are both individual and sustainable.

From gutting and deconstruction through to the environmental sorting and disposal of materials. For years, PORR Umwelttechnik and Prajo & Co have been reliable partners for technically sophisticated projects requiring innovative deconstruction concepts. For everything from power plants and football stadiums to industrial halls or residential complexes. PORR provides complete solutions from planning through to disposal.

The removal and disposal of loosely bound asbestos, e.g. sprayed asbestos or other pollutants, call for special measures to protect people and the environment. Our employees are certified to TRGS 519 and 521 as well as DGUV-R 101-400 in the area of clean-up and demolition and have all the knowledge required to properly remediate hazardous construction materials.

PORR also specialises in what’s known as urban mining, the specialised deconstruction of power plant sites and major industrial facilities. The important thing here is to identify potential objects as secondary raw materials early on, to quantify the secondary raw materials they contain, and to prepare economic feasibility studies based on innovative, technical recycling options.

The construction industry is one of the world’s most resource-intensive economic sectors. That is why we see it as an obligation to contribute to sustainable business through our raw materials. For example, we operate two recycling plants in Himberg and Graz-Pirka where high-quality recycled products are made from mineral construction waste by crushing, sorting, classifying and wet processing, before being sent to be reused.

As an elementary component of a functioning circular economy, waste management continues to grow in importance. Industrial production in particular generates waste that must be recycled as a matter of priority or sent for final treatment as residual waste. PORR specialises in the safe disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. From processing minerals to disposal and landfill: we build and operate our own facilities for precisely these tasks and offer our clients a broad range of services. Here we draw on an experienced team from a wide range of disciplines to develop customised solutions for every task required.

For us, thinking in terms of circular economy does not end with mineral construction materials. The recycling of non-mineral construction materials such as sealing materials and thermal insulation is also becoming increasingly important. Together with universities and industrial partners, we are developing methods to close material loops as effectively as possible. With this, PORR has taken a future-focused step towards sustainability and environmental protection.

In its specialist area of securing and remediating contaminated sites, PORR Umwelttechnik can look back on decades of experience and expertise in planning and executing projects at home and abroad. This makes us the ideal partner when you require knowhow in dealing with old landfills or contaminated sites. Our services cover everything from investigating the contaminated site, producing a remediation concept, submitting it to the authorities and carrying out all of the works to secure and remediate the site, right through transporting and treating the waste and contaminated materials.

Our department for the remediation of contaminated sites handles both public and private projects. Customers prize our specialist expertise, especially when it comes to combining multiple techniques and developing individual solutions. In addition to the proper disposal of asbestos, we also handle the decontamination of spaces contaminated with PAHs and PCBs, mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium and other toxic substances. Furthermore, alongside the stabilisation and immobilisation of pollutants in soil and water, PORR offers solutions for containment measures such as sealing walls or water-retention systems.

The complete and sustainable improvement of the environment and surroundings at the sites affected is always PORR’s priority. This applies not only when planning and producing option studies, but also with the pre-treatment, clearing, professional disposal or treatment in our own plants – we offer everything from a single source. What’s more, we understand how to bring together environmental and cost-effective approaches.

PORR has decades of experience in carrying out industrial deconstruction and demolition works along with the accompanying removal of pollutants, which usually takes place in advance. The main focus in the area of pollutant clean-up is on asbestos removal. Now banned, carcinogenic asbestos was long considered a desirable construction material and can still be found in numerous buildings erected prior to the ban. Many of the affected buildings have now reached the end of their useful life. Before general renovation or demolition, these buildings need to be carefully decontaminated. The safety of our employees and protecting the environment are always the top priority when carrying out these works. High safety standards involving things like enclosures and the construction of negative pressure areas are stipulated for professional execution. In order to prevent any health risks, the people carrying out the remediation work must be properly qualified and equipped. Mandatory protective measures such as full body suits and respiratory protection come as standard.

PORR Umwelttechnik and its two subsidiaries, Koller Transporte-Gravel-Earthworks GmbH and Altlastensanierung und Abraumdeponie Langes Feld GmbH, operate various landfills for mineral waste. In Vienna, Lower Austria and Upper Austria, our specialists apply state-of-the-art landfill technology to store many different types of waste. The range covers everything from landfills for excavated soil and construction waste to those for residual and bulk waste. Our services include site selection, planning, construction, financing and operating landfills. For the treatment of municipal waste, PORR Umwelttechnik works closely with incineration plants in Austria. In Serbia, PORR operates two recycling centres with adjacent landfills. The sheer range of facilities we have available allows us to offer environmentally sound and legally compliant disposal in every type of landfill.

We use earthworks, i.e. construction measures in which the location, form and bearing quality of the soil is changed, to create the basis for every type of infrastructure project. The levelling and compacting of large areas is a key part of earthworks, as is the delivery of sand, gravel or topsoil and the disposal of extracted earth. As a subsidiary of PORR Umwelttechnik, Koller Transporte-Gravel-Earthworks GmbH is a specialist in all earthworks – regardless of whether it’s a small development or complex infrastructure project.

Koller Transporte-Gravel-Earthworks GmbH, a subsidiary of PORR Umwelttechnik GmbH, has been operating highly efficient gravel-washing plants since 2010 with a capacity of 300,000 tonnes per year. We produce practically every grain size from 0.063 mm to 63 mm. Our cutting-edge facility allows us to meet individual customer requirements. An optimised water management system means that up to 95% of the water used goes back into the cycle – without requiring any additives. This means that our production is not only highly economical but also as environmental as possible.

Every project begins with individual planning to optimally realise the needs of our clients within the framework of legal requirements. An expert planning team is a must, especially for projects involving the remediation of contaminated sites or waste treatment including landfills. We rely on excellent technical expertise as well as our extensive knowhow in the field of waste law and environmental law combined with state-of-the-art planning software. The successful handling of complex approval procedures has also been one of PORR’s core competencies for many years. In addition to technical planning, we also act as an interface between operators, the authorities, specialists (in noise, air-pollution control technology, traffic, animals, plants, spatial planning, etc.), legal experts, and municipalities to ensure that all procedures run efficiently. Attractive environmental subsidies are available for a large number of projects. We prepare the applications for you and provide support in processing subsidised projects and handling their accounting.

Our subsidiary Koller Transporte-Gravel-Earthworks GmbH specialises in the transport of all types of bulk material. It is just as proficient in transporting gravel to construction sites as it is at taking away excavated material. The modern fleet is ideally equipped with a broad range of vehicles guaranteeing the right type of truck for every order. Many years of expertise coupled with modern fleet management (real-time navigation and positioning) ensure a maximum of flexibility in scheduling, increasing order capacity and reducing diesel consumption.

PKM-Muldenzentrale GmbH, a PORR subsidiary, handles the collection, removal and disposal of construction site waste and commercial waste in skips and containers. Other services include clearance, taking hazardous goods, skips that can be fitted to cranes, special leak-proof skips, and special vehicles for civil engineering as well as material deliveries of sand, ballast and chippings. The company has the most modern fleet control system in Austria. From GPS-supported satellite positioning to container management using GPS positions – technical innovation is integrated into every phase of the project process.