"It's complex"

Waste separation: what will change now

From next year, metal and light packaging will also be allowed in the same garbage can in Tyrol.

(Bild: Tomschi Peter)

Waste can be valuable - but only if it is separated correctly. Families have to do this. It's not easy. New changes are now on the horizon. The reasons are the new deposit system in Austria and biogas production. 

"It's very complex." Alfred Egger and Reinhard Oberguggenberger from the Tyrolean Waste Management Association are happy to admit this. We are talking about waste separation. This is a challenge for households because new regulations are constantly being introduced. The next big change is coming next year.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe)

Plastic and metal packaging in one garbage can
On January 1, 2025, the deposit system for disposable drinks bottles and cans will be introduced in Austria. "We expect this to reduce the amount of metal and lightweight packaging collected by around 20 percent if there is a 25-cent deposit per return in future," predicts Oberguggenberger. For this reason - but not only for this reason - plastic and metal packaging may be placed together in the yellow bag or yellow garbage can from this date. Some federal states have already made the switch. Now it is Tyrol's turn.

But why is it suddenly allowed to mix what should actually be separated? "We can tolerate the simplification for households because the sorting plants can now separate these materials without much effort," explains association chairman Egger.

Most bags for organic waste are also quite problematic and have to be sorted out again. Many are biodegradable, but get in the way of biogas production.

Reinhard Oberguggenberger, TAWV

Kitchen waste valuable, but too many contaminants
The largest pile of waste is organic waste, which accounts for over 27 percent (see chart). This is valuable because it can be processed into compost and biogas. This requires clean separation. And there is still a huge problem here. As a first step, more and more municipalities are switching to disposing of garden and kitchen waste separately. The reason: high-quality biogas can only be produced from food waste. Grass and tree cuttings, on the other hand, are turned into compost. There are currently fermentation plants in Schlitters and Roppen. However, Egger still sees a lot of potential for expansion here.

Kitchen waste becomes energy. The problem is that there are too many contaminants such as plastic or residual waste in the organic waste garbage can. "In Innsbruck, eight percent of waste is incorrectly thrown away," says Oberguggenberger, quoting a figure. In future, it should be a maximum of two percent. The waste association is aware that there is still a lot of education to be done.

Since waste has been weighed in Tyrol, a 25 percent decrease in residual waste has been observed.

Alfred Egger, Obmann TAWV

Waste is weighed in Tyrol
The example of glass recycling shows that education is effective. At 35 kilos per standard inhabitant (including tourism), the Tyroleans separate the most glass. The Austrian average is 26 kilos. But education alone is not enough. Tyrol is the only federal state where residual waste is weighed almost everywhere. That is why the Tyroleans separate waste diligently. At 108 kg per standard inhabitant, the proportion of residual waste is much lower than the Austrian average.