A successful start

“The incentive of a deposit fee is needed”

Monika Fiala and Simon Parth from Recycling Pfand Austria: "Everyone pulled together".

(Bild: martinsteiger.at)

Since January 1, disposable plastic bottles and aluminum cans - provided they have a deposit logo printed on them - have been subject to a 25-cent deposit. The company behind the scheme is Recycling Pfand Österreich (EWP). The company speaks of a successful start and is confident of achieving the collection rate of 80% set for 2025.

Plastic bottles, especially the 0.5-liter version, are among the world's biggest polluters alongside plastic straws (no joke). This is confirmed by international studies. To counteract this, the European Union (EU) stipulated a collection rate for PET drinks bottles of 90% by 2029. In this country, the aim is to achieve 80 percent this year.

In order to achieve this, Austria launched a new deposit system on January 1st. When you buy a disposable PET bottle or aluminum can with a deposit logo (see photo), you pay 25 cents.

The central office for processing is Recycling Pfand Österreich (EWP). It speaks of a smooth start. According to Managing Directors Monika Fiala and Simon Parth, one million containers have already been returned to over 6,000 vending machines in retail outlets in the first seven weeks. The target for 2025 is a collection rate of 80%. "We will achieve this," the two managers are convinced.

In concrete terms, this would mean that of the roughly estimated 1.8 billion containers with a deposit logo that are expected to be delivered this year, over 1.4 billion of them will be returned and recycled. "This would have been impossible without the deposit system," emphasize Fiala and Parth. 

The returned containers are currently sorted in Leopoldsdorf and will be sorted in a new plant in Mühlendorf from 2026. The tender for a second sorting plant for western Austria is still ongoing. The contract is to be awarded in April or May.

The beverage producers will then buy the processed material back from EWP. "This closes the cycle," the managers emphasize. Currently, containers must contain at least 25 percent recycled material. Many manufacturers, such as mineral water giant Vöslauer, already have bottles made from 100 percent recycled material.

The fact that the system has been so well received is not only due to the good preparation of retailers, industry and the like, but also to the fact that Austrians are already used to deposit systems.