Czech municipal company plans to build a municipal waste incinerator in Žďár nad Sázavou

The municipal company SATT will build a municipal waste incinerator and a sorting line in an industrial zone on the outskirts of Žďár nad Sázavou. The city is responding to the future ban on landfilling recoverable waste. The project will also generate electricity and stabilize heat prices, city mayor Martin Mrkos (STAN, representing Žďár-živé město) said. The Žďár waste-to-energy plant (ZEVO) will be able to incinerate 40,000 tonnes of waste a year. The estimated construction cost is 1.4 billion crowns. The incinerator could begin trial operation in the final quarter of 2029.

“Thanks to the ZEVO, the city will avoid penalties for landfilling. After thorough sorting, waste will be disposed of where it is generated, reducing its environmental impact. The plant will also produce its own energy, strengthening the city’s independence and stabilizing heat prices. It is also extremely important that this is a regional municipal project. No private company is operating here that would make Žďár and the region’s municipalities its vassals,” Mrkos said.

The incinerator project is currently undergoing an environmental impact assessment. “We are working to ensure that it undergoes what is known as a full EIA, which involves a more thorough examination. We want to clearly demonstrate that the project meets the strictest criteria,” said SATT director Petr Scheib. Grants from the State Environmental Fund could cover around 45 percent of the construction costs.

The ZEVO building will be constructed in an industrial zone on the outskirts of the city. “The requirements for energy projects of this kind are very high and are becoming stricter all the time. The Žďár ZEVO will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology to contain noise and emissions, so it will have no impact on the surrounding area. For example, the waste reception bunker will be kept under negative pressure, so no odour will escape,” said Rostislav Dvořák (KDU-ČSL), chairman of SATT’s board and deputy mayor of Žďár nad Sázavou. He said the building, including its chimney, would not disrupt the city’s skyline, even when viewed from Zelená hora.

Under the plans, no more than 15 trucks will arrive at the incinerator each day. “The ZEVO will be served by a maximum of ten to fifteen trucks a day. Thanks to a future connector road and its location in the industrial zone, most trucks will turn into the complex before entering the city,” added Blanka Sobolová, spokesperson for Žďár town hall.