Austria's new deposit system: returned one million bottles!

Austria's new deposit system: returned one million bottles!

Laimgrubengasse 10, 1060 Wien, Österreich - Austria introduced a new disposable deposit system for plastic bottles and metal cans on January 1, 2025. All containers with a volume of 0.1 to 3 liters that carry the Austrian deposit symbol must be returned. This new system aims to reduce plastic waste and keep valuable materials in the recycling process. According to the recycling Pfand Austria's balance sheet, over a million deposit containers were successfully returned after only seven weeks. With around 25 million deposit packaging, which are still in circulation, there is a positive response from the consumer: inside, such as "https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250213_ots0019/neues-einwand-fandsystem-ein-million- and-dosen-jenner return reported.

The Austrian supermarkets offer over 11,400 return points for deposit packaging. This includes around 6,000 return machines that enable uncomplicated return. According to the management of Recycling Pfand Austria, more and more beverage packaging with Pfandlogo will be available over the course of the year. The survey of marketing agent shows that 80 percent of Austrians are: inside the disposable deposit system, with environmental protection being seen as an important advantage. There are exceptions in particular in the catering trade: companies that only offer on-site consumption are not obliged to withdraw empty packaging, while for Take-Away offers, with a redemption obligation, as on bmk.gv.at .

important rules and advantages of the deposit system

A deposit amount of 25 cents is charged for each deposit contain, which is repaid when returning. The packaging must be empty, unexpected and returned with a readable label. The deposit system is intended to help promote the circulation of materials and thus also reduce the environmental impact on carelessly thrown away bottles and doses. The goal of the Pfand Ordinance is a return rate of 80 percent in the first year, which is to increase to 90 percent by 2027 and thus meet the EU requirements before 2029.