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From 2025, the new one-way deposit on aluminum cans and plastic bottles will apply in Austria. The “EWP Recycling Deposit Austria” is responsible for implementing the corresponding federal ordinance, according to which the final preparations are in full swing. In the meantime, “almost the entire Austrian retail network” has been equipped with deposit machines, announced Managing Director Simon Parth at a press conference on Tuesday.
The deposit will cost 25 cents each for closed beverage containers made of plastic or metal with a capacity of up to three liters—except milk and medical products. There will also be no deposit on syrup because it is not yet ready to drink. Vending machines should be able to take back all bottles and cans in circulation. In the case of manual returns, however, returned containers must correspond to the volume and packaging material of the purchase—if a retailer only offers PET bottles with a volume of one liter, for example, they do not have to accept bottles with a volume of 0.5 liters or cans.
According to Parth, there is also an “intensive exchange” with producers to adapt packaging designs to the guidelines in good time. However, old bottles and cans will likely remain on the shelves at the beginning of the year, as the regulation will not deliver recyclable containers until January 1, 2025. “In order not to unsettle consumers too much, we will launch an information campaign in January,” says Monika Fiala, Managing Director of ‘EWP Recycling Pfand Österreich.’ Beverage producers, importers, and returners must register using the EWP portal.
In addition, the managing director said confidently that the deposit system guarantees compliance with EU regulations. From next year, for example, plastic bottles must consist of at least 25 percent recycled material. In 2029, EU countries must also achieve a collection target of 90%. “We have already anchored this 90 percent in our regulation for 2027,” said Fiala.
The processing body expects a circular economy with 2.2 billion bottles and cans annually. Of these, “two billion would be taken back via the vending machines in food retailers,” says Parth. Companies’ existing delivery logistics should take the containers from the vending machines to retail warehouses, where they will be pressed and transported to sorting warehouses. Sorting facilities are still under construction, and transitional facilities have been commissioned for 2025.
- source: APA/picture:
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