7 million euros punishment for waste cartel: clean maker in sight!
7 million euros punishment for waste cartel: clean maker in sight!
Österreich - On June 16, 2025, an important update to the Causa of the Austrian waste management cartel was published. A court imposed a fine of 7 million euros against the Saubermacher Service AG href = "https://www.5min.at/5202506161558/ Abfallkartell-7-million-euro-Strafe-fuer-Saubermacher/"> Trügler Recycling and Transport GesmbH as well as the Pink Robin GmbH . The Federal Competition Authority (BWB) found that these companies were involved in annual agreements in the area of waste management.
The allegations refer to a period from July 2002 to March 2021. According to the BWB, it was found that companies have made price agreements, market reports and the exchange of competitive information. These agreements not only led to mutual allocation of orders, but also ensured the market share of the companies involved. Saubermacher is said to have processed about one million orders in Austria during the investigation period.
Investigations and raids
The investigation into the Causa Müllkartell became public in March 2021 after raids in more than 20 locations in Austria had occurred. These house searches affected companies such as Energie AG, Saubermacher AG and Brantner. The suspicion of illegal agreements was expressed that should cause considerable damage to the competition, the waste management associations, municipalities and citizens.
One year after the first raids, additional searches were carried out due to key witness applications and whistleblower reports. In connection with these investigations, the BWB submitted an application to the Cartel Court against the because of similar illegitimate practices. Between July 2002 and March 2021, FCC had participated in an Austrian cartel and comprehensively cooperated with the BWB as part of the Konzeugenrogram.
Kronzeugrout program and compliance
The cooperation with the BWB and the acknowledgment of the fact received immunity according to the key witness program, which contributed to the acceleration of the procedure. The BWB was able to secure extensive evidence, including over 60 TB on IT data and over 2000 physical documents.
As a result of the infringement identified, BWB and Saubermacher identified around 80 problematic cases. Saubermacher explained that these cases were “not acceptable” under antitrust law and ethically. The company announced that it will sharpen its compliance management system to prevent future incidents.
Waste management in Austria comprises around 300 companies and has annual sales of over five billion euros. The six largest companies together generate around two billion euros. The BWB continues to investigate other companies in the sector and has not yet examined all possible violations.
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