From January 1, 2025, Austria will have a one-time deposit system. Anyone who then buys plastic bottles or aluminum cans pays a 25 cent deposit. If you return the empty bottles and cans, you will also get your money back. This is to ensure that the packaging is recycled and does not end up in nature.
Climate Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) issued the corresponding deposit regulation on Monday. The deposit system for all disposable beverage bottles and aluminum cans from 0.1 to three liters. For hygienic reasons there are exceptions for milk and milk drinks. Beverage cartons will initially not be part of the deposit system, but this cannot be ruled out in the future, says Monika Fiala, director of the processing company EWP Recycling Pfand Austria.
The bottles and cans can be returned wherever the drink is sold, not only in the supermarket, but also at the snack stand. Special conditions apply to small shops: they only have to accept bottles and drinks in normal sales quantities or only products that they actually sell.
Products are marked with a symbol
From January 1, 2025, products that fall under the deposit system will be marked with a corresponding symbol. To ensure that products that are already on the shelves but have not yet been sold are not destroyed, a transition period will initially apply. “The political steps have been taken, the most important points have been identified,” Gewessler said at a press conference on Monday.
The deposit system is managed by the specially established EWP Recycling Pfand Austria. This involves, for example, setting up the logistics and infrastructure for returning and processing plastic bottles and cans. Now it is time to implement the IT system and develop an efficient and practical logistics concept. The processing center is owned by the sponsoring association “Einwegpfand”, to which the leading beverage manufacturers and trading partners belong.
Products may not become more expensive due to a deposit
The products may not become more expensive due to the deposit. Under EU law, a certain collection quota should have been reached by 2029 anyway, and the one-way station system is now a way to get there. “The system is self-financing,” says Gewessler.
On the one hand, there is a producer fee that now has to be paid. In addition, for every bottle that is not returned, 25 cents will remain in the system. The collected plastic and aluminum are also sold for reuse and thus generate income. The trade receives compensation for the processing, so that no additional costs arise here.
Mandatory reusable quota from 2024
From January 2024, a mandatory reusable quota will also be introduced. “Reusable products will be offered throughout Austria,” Gewessler said. This includes retailers that previously did not have reusable containers on their shelves, such as discount stores. In addition to beer and mineral water, fruit juices and other types of drinks should also be regularly available in reusable bottles.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
