Viennese waste management: waste separation in sight - where's progress?

Viennese waste management: waste separation in sight - where's progress?

Wien, Österreich - In Vienna, the garbage rules! According to a current report by the daily Kurier, waste separation in the capital is still a big problem. In the previous year, the Viennese collected around eight kilograms of light packaging and metal per person, while each of them produces an average of 260 kilograms of residual waste annually. Vienna is therefore 100 kilograms above the Austrian average. Despite the structures such as the 19,000 yellow tons provided by the MA 48, the collection rates are not satisfactory. A Test in the Favorites district showed alarming results: eight out of ten bottles simply landed in residual waste instead of in the yellow bin. Expert is therefore demanding improved waste separation and new, user -friendly systems to improve the situation, so reports .

Since January 1, 2023, however, an important step has been taken. All plastic packaging in Vienna is now collected uniformly in the yellow ton or in the yellow sack. As early as the first quarter of 2023, this measure led to an impressive increase of around 20 percent in the collection of plastic and metal packaging compared to the previous year, as ara . In order to inform the citizens even better, special stickers were attached to the collection containers, which should support the correct separation of waste.

The MA 48 emphasizes that the quality of the collection is important for effective recycling. The special rounds of the yellow tons reduce the false share significantly from 40 to around 10 percent. Even if the Viennese already show progress in waste separation, the challenge remains great to meet the EU requirements for recycling quota. By 2029, a quota of 90 percent for PET bottles and a recovery of 55 percent for all plastic packaging is to be achieved, while the current rate is only 26 percent.