In the waste cartel procedure, the Federal Competition Authority granted the waste processing company Saubermacher a leniency status. Because the company cooperated with the BWB after the house searches in the context of the leniency program to fully clarify the facts, they requested the imposition of a reduced fine of 7.085 million euros.
The company accepted the fine. Saubermacher emphasized in a broadcast on Monday morning that it had made an important contribution to the clarification through “comprehensive cooperation”. According to the BWB, Saubermacherdienste AG participated in price fixing, market sharing and the exchange of competitively sensitive information between July 2002 and March 2021 that were in violation of antitrust law.
Saubermacher spoke during the period in question of “approximately 80 individual cases” that “are not acceptable under antitrust law or according to our system of values and ethics.”
These cases were “identified” together with the BWB, according to the company, which also points out that it processed a total of one million orders throughout Austria between 2002 and 2021. No information was provided on the order volume of the individual cases in relation to the other orders.
Waste is a multi-billion dollar business
The waste management market in Austria comprises around 300 companies; in addition to a few national companies, there are also many smaller companies. For companies, the so-called waste is a billion-dollar business. The sector generates a turnover of more than five billion euros per year. The six largest companies together have a turnover of around two billion euros.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
