“Municipality of Amsterdam’s Planned Sale of Waste Company AEB Blocked by Regulator”

For the time being, the municipality of Amsterdam is not yet rid of the headache file for waste company AEB. The municipality thought it had found a buyer for the waste processor with Rotterdam Waste Processing Rijnmond, but the regulator is blocking the deal.

According to the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, a too powerful company would be created if the deal were to go through. The combination would ultimately lead to higher rates for residents for the processing of their waste.

This means that the municipality of Amsterdam will remain the sole owner of the waste company for the time being. The Rotterdam company would pay 450 million for the takeover.

About 16 percent of all waste in the Netherlands is processed by AEB, making it the largest waste incinerator. The municipality had to invest tens of millions in the company in 2019 to keep it afloat. In 2021, the municipality decided to look for a party that wants to take over the company.

Amsterdam alderman Reinier van Dantzig finds it “very annoying” for AEB employees that the future of the waste company is again uncertain. He says he disagrees with the regulator’s decision. He will come up with a new decision about the future of AEB in a few weeks.