Problems instead of solution – how the sinking system sinks in the Varknisaos

“Pawn bottles are not waste, but a source, but they end up too often where they do not belong” -Florian Weins, director of Fritz-Kola, describes a development that has just started in Austria, but is already visible in Germany: the disposable deposit is not only changes recycled behavior, but also dealing with Garbage. As is known, the down payment has been on disposable bottles and doses in Austria since the beginning of the year.

Many consumers who consume drinks along the way do not give their bottles back, but throw them away in the public manure or just. This attracts deposit collectors who look for the valuable containers. In Germany this is a real environmental problem. We are also increasingly being destroyed in parks of larger cities to gain easier access to the bottles. This leads to rubbing green areas.

Cities such as Linz and Innsbruck have responded and introduced and reported Pion Rings – Devices in public garbage bins in which bottles can be parked. Graz is currently investigating similar models. De Hoop: a pragmatic solution for consumers who want to get rid of bottles easily – and for those who collect them.

But although it has been adjusted to the surface, deeper errors are shown in the system below. Because the down payment no longer comes in recycling via the yellow container. Removing the useful package and increasing the removal costs.

There are also question marks at the EU level. The officially reported recycled quotas of individual countries are in contradiction with reality. States with a large part of the landfills report surprisingly high recycling rates – figures that even classify the European Court of Auditors as unrealistic. For countries such as Austria that invest a lot in a functioning circular economy, this means a competitive disadvantage. Experts require improvements: on the collection points, in urban planning, in departure logistics and the control over legal requirements.

The collective system also puts the packaging of the flood of Asian online retailers under pressure. Many of the boxes end up in the Ton and lead to the fact that empties have to be emptied more often – with corresponding extra costs.

He stands there like a rock in the surf: 82-year-old Peter Habeler. The man, who was the first to beat Mount Everest without oxygen, pauses at the top. No view of the valley, but inside. Then he says softly: “What we do here has meaning. For everyone who comes behind us.”

The ‘Clean Mountains’ campaign has been up to Wijkers and Alpinists for 16 years – not for selfies, but for attitude. This year we went on the head of the 2366 meter High Bull’s head in the Salzburg Lungau together with the Alpine Club and Almdudler. The message is as clear as the mountain air: waste has no place in the Alps.

“A lot of waste has been saved for years,” warns Alpine Club Vice Markus Welzl from Alpine Club. With Almdudler director Gerhard Schilling, he signs the “Manifesto of the Clean Mountains”-a sign that should remain. Since 2009, free eco-sackers have been available on the huts-a simple but effective idea. “Protection starts with packing backpacking,” says Schilling. “If you plan carefully, take less waste – and leave no traces.”

Haveler summarizes it: “Not the top makes the climber. But how he leaves him. Because clean mountains start in mind – and end in the heart.”