Cologne Cathedral Illuminated by the City's Waste

The famous symbol of the German city of Cologne - its cathedral the "Kölner Dom" - is now illuminated at night using energy generated from the city's Waste-to-Energy Plant AVG (Abfallverwertungsgesellschaft Köln).

The "Dom" is a UNESCO world heritage site since 1996 and annually receives more than 6 million visitors from Germany and abroad.

"It was a pleasure for us to take over the sponsorship of illuminating the cathedral for the next three years", AVG's Managing Director Andreas Freund said on 24th November 2011 at the official switching on ceremony attended by the mayor of Cologne, the cathedral's provost and other local dignitaries .

"From the waste bin to the centre of peoples' hearts", he stated, recalling that the gothic "Dom" is the most beloved and admired symbol of the city of Cologne.

The Waste-to-Energy Plant in Cologne annually processes more than 700,000 tonnes of waste that is not suitable for recycling and generates about 440 million kWh of energy - electricity and steam. From this about 350 million kWh of electricity are supplied to the local RheinEnergie power grid. This is enough to supply a quarter of the citizens of Cologne with electricity from their waste. "This is not only efficient recycling, but an up-cycling process. We generate a high quality product - energy", the AVG's Manager affirmed.

Whereas for Dr. Norbert Feldhoff, provost of the cathedral, the illumination of the cathedral using energy from waste reminds him of the old myth of the "phoenix rising from the ashes" - a symbol of rebirth.

For further information AVG-Köln http://www.avgkoeln.de