ERP for Recycling and Waste — software for Entsorgung under KrWG and eANV
The German recycling and waste-management industry (Recycling und Entsorgung) operates under one of the densest regulatory regimes in the manufacturing-adjacent sector: the Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz (KrWG, German Recycling Act) and the older AbfG framework, the electronic waste-transport documentation system (eANV), and a long list of fraction-specific rules. An ERP for recycling and waste has to integrate weighbridge systems, container tracking with RFID, route optimisation, the eANV signature workflow, and a secondary-material trading layer that mixes commodity-trading and disposal-services economics.
Requirements for recycling and waste ERP
Waste-management business processes look unlike most other distribution or manufacturing models. Each transaction has both a service component (collection, transport, treatment) and a material-flow component (which can be revenue or cost depending on the fraction and the market). Weighbridge data — gross weight, tare weight, fraction code, supplier — is the primary transactional event for most loads, and the ERP needs a clean integration with the weighing-system manufacturer (Schenck, Mettler, Pfreundt). Container tracking with RFID or barcode handles the asset pool of skips, roll-on/roll-off containers and IBCs at customer sites. Route optimisation matters for the collection side, where vehicle utilisation defines margin. eANV adds an electronic-signature workflow for hazardous waste with the Länder authorities.
Mandatory functions
Mandatory functions include: weighbridge integration with automatic ticket generation and fraction classification per AVV (Abfallverzeichnis-Verordnung) waste codes; eANV workflow for hazardous-waste consignment notes (Entsorgungsnachweise and Begleitscheine) including the qualified electronic signature; container management with RFID/barcode and customer-site assignment; route optimisation and dispatch for collection tours; secondary-material trading module with commodity-style pricing (steel scrap indices, paper grades, plastic recyclate); customer-billing logic that can handle both service revenue and material-credit invoices to the same customer; and KrWG-compliant material-flow reporting for the Länder authorities. Audit-trail support is mandatory because hazardous-waste records are inspected.
Vendor landscape
Specialist vendors with strong DACH waste-management coverage include AbfallWin, abf (Audatex/Solera), EnWiSys, GUS-OS Recycling, ENTSORGA-IT and Informática IDOS. Most are sized for the mid-market (50–500 employees), which covers the bulk of regional and specialist Entsorgungsbetriebe. Larger waste-management groups (Veolia, Remondis, Suez, Alba) run either bespoke or heavily customised SAP S/4HANA stacks with waste-industry add-ons. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central with a waste add-on is occasionally seen at the smaller end of the market but lacks the depth of the specialists on eANV and weighbridge integration.
Trends and outlook
Three trends are tightening recycling-ERP requirements. First, EU Green Deal and German packaging-act (VerpackG) reporting force structured material-flow data into formal submissions, raising the bar on master-data discipline. Second, secondary-material price volatility (steel scrap, recyclate plastics, paper) makes margin transparency at the trading desk more valuable, which favours ERPs that can hold real-time index prices and run mark-to-market on inventory. Third, EU eIDAS-conformant qualified electronic signatures are tightening eANV workflows further, and vendors are differentiating on how clean their signature integration is for routine drivers and shift dispatchers.
Related Topics
Frequently Asked Questions
What is eANV and why is it critical?
The eANV (elektronisches Abfallnachweisverfahren) is the electronic system used in Germany for documenting hazardous-waste transports. Every shipment of hazardous waste requires a digitally signed Begleitschein (consignment note) and underlying Entsorgungsnachweis. An ERP without solid eANV integration forces parallel work in the ZKS-Abfall portal, which both wastes operator time and introduces compliance risk.
Can weighbridge data flow into the ERP automatically?
Yes — specialist waste ERPs ship drivers for the common weighbridge controller protocols (Schenck, Mettler, Pfreundt, Bizerba) and write the gross/tare/net values directly to a ticket, often with automatic fraction classification by AVV code. Manual ticket entry survives in some legacy operations but is a major source of error and an obvious quick win for any ERP replacement.
How does secondary-material trading change ERP requirements?
Secondary-material trading combines commodity-trading patterns (index prices, hedging, mark-to-market) with classical inventory management. The ERP needs a price-list engine that can absorb daily index moves, a margin-calculation layer that runs on landed cost, and a customer ledger that mixes service invoices with material-credit notes. Generic distribution ERPs rarely handle the credit-note direction cleanly.