FPÖ starts Petition: Is the new bottle deposit really fair?

FPÖ starts Petition: Is the new bottle deposit really fair?

In Austria, the new deposit system continues to provide PET bottles and doses, which has been in force since the beginning of 2023, for controversy discussions. The FPÖ has started a petition to reject this system and instead to stand up for fair consumption. FPÖ MP require the abolition of the regulation, which was introduced under ex-Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler. Thomas Spalt, the FPÖ environmental speech, describes the system as compulsion and demands fair alternatives for consumers. Michael Fürtbauer, SME spokesman of the FPÖ, announced that it is to collect signatures for the petition, which is now available under www.flaschenpfand-stoppen.at

The FPÖ has significant concerns about the practicality of the deposit system. Critics argue that it is particularly overloaded by families and pensioners while large corporations benefit. Spalt criticizes that Vienna does not fulfill the collection rate, which is burdened by the overall balance of Austria. It is also criticized that the Pfand company EWP Recycling Pfand Austria gGmbH is not subject to any Court of Auditors, which ensures a lack of transparency. As part of the new system, around two million PET deposit bottles and cans are returned daily. The EWP draws a positive balance after the first six months.

criticism and challenges of the new system

The FPÖ's essential criticisms also include the additional bureaucracy and cost loads that the deposit system for consumers and retailers brings. Spalt describes the entire project as "overpriced Murks" and warns of the danger of social problems that could go hand in hand with the new system, such as rummaging through garbage in search of deposit bottles. According to Fürtbauer, the new system has been introduced against the will of many citizens to improve the collective rate in Vienna, while rural regions that had already met the EU requirements are also burdened.

political framework and EU requirements

Environmental organizations and trade support the deposit system, while the FPÖ sees it as a bureaucratic burden. In this controversial debate, the political differences are clear: the Greens defend the system as an important means in the fight against pollution. The Ministry of the Environment emphasizes that the deposit system was introduced to the fulfillment of EU requirements, such as a collective rate of 77 % by 2025 and 90 % by 2029. Before the introduction, the recycling rate for PET bottles in Austria moved at around 76 %.

The FPÖ plans to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures for the abolition of the deposit system, but a change due to the current majority relationships in parliament seems unlikely. This petition leads to a broader public debate about return quotas and environmental policy concepts that more and more people are mobilizing.