After a corona decrease of ten percent in 2020, the amount of waste on Austria’s highways rose again last year, despite a further reduction in traffic, to almost 8,000 tons. And the trend is clearly upward. An initial interim balance sheet for the summer travel shows an increase of about five percent this year, Asfinag reports.
Every year, thousands of tons of garbage collect at the 55 Asfinag rest areas and 87 rest areas, as well as along the highways and highways. In 2021 this was around 7900 tons, a slight increase of 100 tons. The amount of more waste is the smaller problem. “We are concerned about the ever-increasing amount of carelessly discarded waste,” says Asfinag environmental expert Heimo Berghold.
Garbage is dumped next to waste containers
Responsible for this are, in particular, the PET beverage bottles and snack packaging, which are often simply thrown on the ground in rest areas and parking lots – sometimes right next to the waste containers intended for this purpose – or even thrown out of the moving car. The latter is an extra big risk for road safety, because thrown objects can easily become projectiles.
In addition, illegal dumping of household waste or construction rubble occurs again and again. In some cases, entire furniture or car tires end up next to the routes, for example to save on the garbage collection fee.
Some of the waste is collected by hand
The illegal disposal of waste means tedious work for Asfinag employees. After all, about a quarter of the total amount of waste has to be collected by hand. “This creates unnecessary, dangerous work orders off the route and, of course, costs,” says Asfinag.
Asfinag has been trying to develop initiatives in the field of litter for years. Most recently, this was pointed out to all overhead ads with the slogan “I’m a highway, not a garbage can”. To reduce the problem of disposable bottles, all rest areas are equipped with specially marked drinking water fountains, where you can fill your own glass drinking bottle or are encouraged to at least reuse an existing plastic bottle.
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.
