ZAK- Zentrale Abfallwirtschaft Kaiserslautern AöR

Name

ZAK- Zentrale Abfallwirtschaft Kaiserslautern AöR

Legal name

ZAK – Zentrale Abfallwirtschaft Kaiserslautern, gemeinsame kommunale Anstalt der Stadt Kaiserslautern und der Landkreise Kaiserslautern und Donnersbergkreis

Website

https://zak-kl.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Waste Management Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Landfill (562212), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Landfill Operations & Disposal Services (IMAIAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Landfill Gas (LFG) Capture, Flaring & Energy Utilization (LFG-to-Electricity/RNG) (EUAIACAL), Universal Waste Management (Batteries, Lamps, Mercury Devices, Aerosols) (BPALAFAJ), Yard Waste, Land Clearing & Green Waste Processing (Mulch/Compost Feedstock) (BPALAEAG)

Keywords

• Waste management services
• Landfill operations
• Bio-waste treatment
• Recycling services
• Environmental education

Headquarters

HQ city

Kaiserslautern

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Waste disposal and treatment fees: Regulated fees charged to municipal waste management companies of the city and districts (Stadt Kaiserslautern, Landkreis Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis from 2026) for waste reception, treatment, and disposal services. Fees are set through a three-year Gebührenplankalkulation reviewed and approved by the Verwaltungsrat. ZAK has maintained stable fee levels for approximately 15 years.
2. Energy sales (electricity and district heating): Sale of green electricity (from BMHKW, gas motor, wind turbines) and district heating to Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern (SWK) / KDK under PPA agreements. Electricity generation of ~18–26 GWh/year and district heating of ~43–54 GWh/year. With the 2025 PPA, ZAK supplies the city's entire municipal electricity demand (~14,000 MWh/year) under a two-year Utility PPA.
3. Mineral waste landfill (Deponie DK I): Fees charged for disposal of mineral waste at the DK I landfill section, receiving ~400,000–515,000 tonnes per year. Revenue is booked under the Betrieb gewerblicher Art (BgA).
4. PALATIHUM compost and secondary products: Sale of quality-certified compost products (PALATIHUM brand) to private customers, agriculture, landscape management, and the organic farming sector. Compost is RAL-gütegesichert and certified for use in organic agriculture. Also includes recovered materials from Wertstoffhof operations.
5. Problem waste (Sonderabfall) collection and treatment: Free drop-off service for hazardous household waste at the Annahmestelle für Problemabfälle and via Umweltmobil. Revenue is recovered through municipal fees rather than direct charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ZAK operates an integrated waste management center that handles landfill operations, biological waste treatment, biomass combined heat and power (CHP) generation, wind energy production, and recycling center services. It serves municipalities, commercial waste producers, and private citizens in the Kaiserslautern region of Germany, and additionally runs an environmental education center (Umwelterlebniszentrum).

Product overview

ZAK operates as a modern waste management center offering an integrated portfolio of waste treatment, recycling, and renewable energy services. The core offerings include bio-waste treatment (Biomasse-Kompetenzzentrum) converting organic waste into energy and PALATIHUM compost, a recycling center (Wertstoffhof), mobile hazardous waste collection (Umweltmobil), landfill operations, and a biomass combined heat and power plant. Environmental education is provided through the Umwelterlebniszentrum. The company also provides ancillary products like safety equipment. Services are delivered through various facilities including the Kapiteltal site, with online booking portals for customer convenience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PALATIHUM: Quality compost brand produced from bio-waste at ZAK's biomass competence center. RAL-certified, suitable for organic farming, sold to private gardeners, agriculture, and the growing media industry.
• La ZAKeria
• Umwelterlebniszentrum
• Biomasse-Kompetenzzentrum

Products and services

• Integrated Waste Management Center

Quantifiable outcome

• ~10,000 tonnes CO₂ avoided per year (landfill gas recovery + green energy + compost CO₂ sequestration)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Landesforsten Rheinland-PfalzmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2028Landesforsten Rheinland-Pfalz (State Forests of Rhineland-Palatinate) entered into a lease agreement (Pachtvertrag) with ZAK for the siting of the 4th wind turbine on state forest land adjacent to ZAK's operational site. The new 7.2 MW Vestas turbine will be built on the border between ZAK's site and Staatsforst. This partnership secures ZAK access to high-wind land for renewable energy expansion.
• Blue Elephant Energy AGminorOthers · 1 January 2026Blue Elephant Energy AG (Hamburg) is the owner/lessor of the three existing Vestas V112 wind turbines (3 × 3 MW) on ZAK's site, installed in 2014. ZAK acts as the site host and possibly energy off-taker for the electricity generated. The relationship is a commercial lease arrangement.
• Kommunale-Dienstleistungsgesellschaft Kaiserslautern mbH (KDK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2025KDK, a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern GmbH (SWK), signed a two-year Utility PPA with ZAK in November 2025. KDK acts as electricity trader and utility company, purchasing ZAK's green electricity (~14,000 MWh/year) and supplying all municipal buildings of Stadt Kaiserslautern. KDK also handles market price balancing in peak demand or maintenance periods. This is a flagship example of inter-municipal energy cooperation.
• Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern GmbH (SWK)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2025SWK is the primary offtake partner for ZAK's green district heating (~50–54 GWh/year) and electricity under the KDK PPA structure. SWK distributes ZAK's renewable energy to end consumers across Kaiserslautern. ZAK is described as the 'Rückgrat' (backbone) of regional energy supply for SWK. SWK also supports ZAK as a subsidiary parent through the KDK subsidiary structure.
• Daimler Truck AG (Mercedes-Benz)majorTechnology or Integration · 24 September 2025ZAK purchased a Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 (4×2, 600 kWh LFP battery, 500 km range) as its first fully electric heavy-duty truck. The truck runs on GML routes transporting residual waste to MHKW Ludwigshafen and collecting bio-waste from Umladeanlagen. Two 400 kW Hyper-Chargers were installed on ZAK's site. The eActros 600 was named International Truck of the Year 2025. This represents ZAK's strategic integration of cutting-edge electric vehicle technology.
• DonnersbergkreiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The Donnersbergkreis joined ZAK as the 3rd Anstaltsträger on 1 January 2026 (membership approved in 2024). The district of ~76,000 inhabitants contributes a €1.3M capital stake and gains access to ZAK's full waste treatment infrastructure, the DK I landfill, Umweltmobil service (launched Jan 2025), and economies of scale. ZAK's service population grows to ~325,000. The integration is described as 'historically significant' and was confirmed through multiple feasibility studies confirming economic and strategic advantages.
• UDATA UmweltpädagogikminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024UDATA provides environmental education services at ZAK's Umwelterlebniszentrum, jointly developing and delivering educational programmes for school groups, Kitas, and the Ferienfreizeit summer holiday programme. UDATA works alongside ZAK's own environmental educators.
• Landesforsten Rheinland-PfalzminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Landesforsten partners with ZAK on holiday environmental programmes (Ferienfreizeit 'Umwelt erleben'), bringing children together with forestry rangers for nature education activities combined with ZAK's waste education programmes.
• Stadt Kaiserslautern (City of Kaiserslautern)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018City of Kaiserslautern is a founding Anstaltsträger of ZAK, jointly owning the public-law entity with Landkreis Kaiserslautern. As of 2025, the city also becomes a direct energy customer through the KDK Utility PPA, sourcing all municipal electricity from ZAK's green generation. City representatives hold seats on the Verwaltungsrat.
• Landkreis Kaiserslautern (District of Kaiserslautern)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1976Landkreis Kaiserslautern is a founding Anstaltsträger of ZAK. District representatives hold seats on the Verwaltungsrat. The district receives waste disposal services for ~225,000 residents and benefits from the DK I landfill and renewable energy infrastructure.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Abfallwirtschaftsbetrieb München (AWM): Munich's municipal waste management company responsible for collection, treatment, recycling, and disposal for ~1.6 million residents. Comparable to ZAK as a publicly owned operator of an integrated facility (including biomass CHP and composting) serving a major German metropolitan region.
• Berliner Stadtreinigungsbetriebe (BSR): Berlin's municipal waste management company (Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts) responsible for collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal for ~3.7 million residents. Closely comparable to ZAK as a public-law entity operating an integrated waste + energy + education portfolio under a statutory mandate.
• Stadtreinigung Hamburg: Hamburg's public-law municipal waste and street-cleaning entity serving ~1.9 million residents. Directly comparable to ZAK's mandate-driven model combining refuse collection, recycling centres, hazardous-waste services, and energy recovery from waste.
• MA 48 – Abfallwirtschaft, Straßenreinigung und Fuhrpark (Wien): Vienna's municipal waste management department, a publicly owned entity combining refuse disposal, street cleaning, fleet operations, and a major waste-to-energy CHP. Directly comparable to ZAK as a publicly mandated, vertically integrated municipal waste + energy operator with environmental education programs.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Umweltservice Deutschland GmbH: German arm of the global Veolia group, providing municipal and industrial waste collection, treatment, and disposal across Germany. Comparable to ZAK as a broad incumbent offering the same integrated waste + energy portfolio, but with international scale and commercial customer base rather than a regional public mandate.
• ALBA Group plc & Co. KG: Major German recycling and waste services group (Interseroh, ALBA Recycling). A relevant broad incumbent comparable to ZAK in raw materials recovery, recycling centre operations, and waste-management logistics, but operating as a private commercial platform rather than a public entity.
• REMONDIS SE & Co. KG: Germany's largest private waste and recycling company (Rethmann Group), offering collection, treatment, and energy recovery across Germany and Europe. Comparable to ZAK as a broad incumbent offering the same integrated service portfolio, though operating commercially rather than as a public-law mandate holder.
• PreZero GmbH & Co. KG: Schwarz Group's recycling and environmental services arm, one of Europe's largest integrated waste managers. Comparable to ZAK in offering waste collection, sorting, recycling, and energy recovery across Germany, but as a broad commercial incumbent rather than a public-law regional monopoly.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zak--zentrale-abfallwirtschaft-kaiserslautern-a%C3%B6r

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ZAK- Zentrale Abfallwirtschaft Kaiserslautern AöR