Calm before the storm

Deposit start with 50,000 returns got off to a leisurely start

Where a deposit logo is printed, there is money back. You should pay attention to this, because the nature of the new bottles is not very different.

(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer)

Several tens of thousands of returnable bottles and cans have been returned in Tyrol so far, compared to around one million throughout Austria. The masses are still waiting in the wings, and so is an initial assessment of the economy.

What is normally an exchange about the weather seems to have been replaced by a new small talk topic these days: "Have you seen a returnable bottle yet?"

The deposit obligation for disposable bottles and cans has been in force since January 1. So far, however, consumers haven't noticed too much: a transitional period allows beverage bottlers to supply bottles and cans without a deposit logo to retailers until the end of March, and they can continue to sell them until the end of 2025 - as long as they are compatible with the shelf life.

We still have old labels in stock, which we will use up by March, then we will switch over.

Iris Musack, Getränkeproduzentin und -händlerin

"I don't have a single deposit bottle in my house yet," says Iris Musack, whose company produces the "Chabeso" cracker in Tyrol. "We still have old labels in stock, we'll use them up by March, then we'll switch over."

A look at the label reveals what's worth the money
You have to look at the label to recognize returnable goods - you shouldn't rely on the quality alone. "There's only a small difference," explains Stefan Mair, chairman of the food trade committee at the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce. It is still too early for him to make an initial assessment: "There are too few bottles in circulation for that." So far it is working, "the system is settling in well. But we're not dealing with the masses yet". In any case, we are prepared.

We expect a large number of beverage containers with a deposit to be in circulation from March.

Simon Parth und Monika Fiala, Recycling Pfand Österreich

25 million containers in circulation, things will really get going from March
According to Recycling Pfand Österreich, 25 million deposit containers were in circulation at the end of January - which does not mean that all of them are already on the market. "The take-back via kiosks, tobacconists etc. has only just begun," it says. Due to longer supply chains, it also takes longer for products to end up on the shelves.

Around one million containers have been returned across Austria so far, 50,000 in Tyrol. "We expect a large number of beverage containers with deposits to be in circulation from March," believe Simon Parth and Monika Fiala, Managing Directors of Recycling Pfand Österreich.

Stefan Mair and Iris Musack also expect to know more in a month's time. In any case, the goal is ambitious: Austria wants to achieve a return rate of 80 percent in the first year, rising to 90 percent by 2027.