Environmental awareness asked: Austria exceeds collecting goal for batteries!

Environmental awareness asked: Austria exceeds collecting goal for batteries!

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - On February 13, 2025, it can be seen that the environmental consciousness movement in Austria gains a lot of momentum. According to the electrical device coordination office (EAK), the collective amount of device batteries rose by impressive 5.3 percent in 2023, which resulted in the EU specification of 45 percent at least exceeded. The current figures prove a collective rate of almost 47 percent and for 2024 a further increase is even forecast. A decisive factor is the successful nationwide campaign "here with empty", which caused the collected batteries to increase by 11 percent in the commercial boxes alone. Elisabeth Giehser, managing director of EAK, emphasizes the need for professional disposal in order to avoid fires that can arise from improper waste disposal of lithium batteries. The estimate states that in 2023 around 47 percent of the device batteries placed in the market were lithium batteries.

recycling and security

The record numbers in Austria are in line with developments in Germany. In the same year, a total of 213,595 tons of old batteries were successfully recycled, which corresponds to an increase of 0.4 percent compared to the previous year. The recovery of various raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and lithium is particularly remarkable, as these are crucial for the recycling industry. According to the reports, 166,709 tons of secondary raw materials were re -won, which underlines the importance of an effective collection and recycling methods. Even if the collective rate for device batteries in Germany fell to 50.4 percent, all legal requirements and EU efficiency goals remain.

Both countries rely considerable efforts in the collective and exploitation strategies in order to avoid environmental pollution through dangerous waste and to secure the availability of valuable raw materials. The need for correct handling of batteries and batteries is increased by ongoing campaigns and legal requirements, such as the EU battery regulation. This regulation, in force since February 18, 2024, not only offers a legal framework for the entire lifespan of batteries, but also promotes awareness among the population that batteries should not end up in residual waste.

The above developments show that both the Austrian and the German population are increasingly taking responsibility for their environment, which is reflected in the increasing collective and recycling numbers. Information on the disposal, the collection points and the recycling methods are both in Austria at ots.at and for Germany on the website of the Environmental Federal Agency Available.