Austria's plastic bottle deposit: crazy actions before the deadline!

Austria now has a new plastic system for plastic bottles that came into force on January 1, 2025. As of now, consumers have to pay 25 cents deposit for each plastic bottle returned. The aim of this measure is to significantly increase the recycling rate and protect nature from unnecessary plastic waste. As orf.at . There it is explained that the empty bottles do not have to be crushed and the label must be readable in order to get the deposit back. In the worst case, an error in the return process could mean that they lose their money.

effects on everyday life

The new system is imparted by an information campaign that starts on January 9th. Other goals include supporting particularly smaller sales outlets and gastronomic companies that often do not have the necessary return options. Large -scale supermarkets are expected as the main places for the pawn return, where up to 90 percent of the empty containers are collected. Another feature of the system is the merging of return points in frequented areas to help the small shops that often suffer from the deposit system.