Part 1: Greifswald rubbish dump

Well-known to all Greifswald people, the Greifswald rubbish dump situated in the north of the town is nowadays a green and idyllic place to look at. Until 1996, almost 1.9 mio m3 of waste have been stored here on an area of approx. 12 ha.  This was mainly domestic waste, bulky waste, ashes, slag, sludge, and construction waste of more than 30 years.
In order to prevent emission from the dump, a sophisticated sealing system was built in the years 1996-2000. The result of the successful recultivitation can be seen today. Since 1999, 27 gas wells produce energy from the dump gases via a block heat and power plant , which supplies the Greifswald local network.




Part 2: Greifswald sewage works

After 1989 the building of a completely new sewage works was an urgent requirement, since the old oxidation pond complex (ca 20 ha) no longer met the requirements of an environmentally suitable purification of effluents.

On 5. May 1994 the sludge dewatering and the waste water treatment were taken into operation, the latter consisting of a mechanical and a biological part. In a further stage plants for the sludge treatment and for the utilization of the digester gas were built. The building process was completed with facilities for a simultaneous precipitation, the treatment of problematic waste water, the operation of sewage pumping stations, an intermediate storage of waste water, and furthermore by a screening and sand washing plant and an exhaust air treatment plant.

Today, Greifswald is dewatered through a separate system, which consists of 265 km of waste water- and rainwater pipes. The waste water is discharged through 75 pump stations, 19 of which transport the water through 4 pressure mains (45 km) directly to the plant. Besides Greifswald, also the municipalities of Friedrichshagen, Neuenkirchen, Wampen, Wackerow, Hinrichshagen, Potthagen and Weitenhagen are connected to the waste water treatment plant.

Furthermore the quality of the waste water treatment is continuously monitored by electric measuring instruments. Since the constituents and the quantity of the wastewater are constantly changing, it is essential to carry out extensive biological and chemical analyses in order to guarantee a reliable and economic operation of the plant. Therefore a productive laboratory has been set up, which is also responsible for firms and companies whose waste water contains problematic constituents.

Annually 4,700 t of dewatered sewage sludge are produced, which are used as fertilizer in agriculture. The sludge is treated in two digestion tanks for 30 days at 38°C. As a result organic ingredients are partly converted into biogas, which is used for the operation of four block heating stations. Those produce 87% of the electrical energy and 100% of the thermal energy needed by the waste water treatment plant.

The former oxidation ponds are no longer used for the treatment of waste water, but are kept as biotopes, which have become a habitat especially for waterfowl.