Introduction

This module starts with an overview of the fields of application and uses for biological processes in waste management. The "History" Chapter follows that and gives an overview of the historical development of composting and fermentation as processes for recycling and treatment:

• When, why and where did certain processes developed?
• What were the decisive inhibiting and promoting factors in their development?
• When did waste management enter into the general consciousness and where did the motivation for its development and implementation come from?
• What was the time frame for the development, planning and implementation phases?
• What conceptual, planning-related, technical and operational developments took place and what were the reasons for them?

Finally, facts about the status quo, past developments and predicted trends are given with the corresponding explanations, showing the current status of certain waste man-agement instruments and their future place in Germany and in various regions of the world. They form an important basis for assessing the market. In addition, these facts provide insights into the conceptual and technical developments within the waste management segment under consideration. They also provide supplementary clues for finding and evaluating references to the current state of the art.

The objective of this module is to provide a better understanding of the current state of waste management based on history and recent developments. The learning objective is to identify these developments and use them to make future statements and fore-casts.

The corresponding explanations and background information on the status quo and developments are also intended to provide assistance in conceptual design and plan-ning, as well as support decision-making, which is particularly true for planning in the international arena.

Data of varying degrees of up-to-dateness are available on specifications for the con-struction and process engineering of biowaste composting and fermentation plants. The composting data are from 2009 (Rettenberger et al. 2012). Since the number of existing facilities over the past nine years has not undergone any significant changes, the available data can presently be ranked as sufficient. The data on biowaste fermen-tation stem from the years 2012 and 2016 (Fricke et al. 2014; IFEU/ Witzenhausen In-stitute, 2018).

Meanwhile, most composting plants have been around for more than 20 years. This compilation of future trends – noticeable in the measures for plant maintenance, reha-bilitation, and expansion – is based on the experiences of Turk (2018) and the authors' own data garnered from expert opinions.