Deposit system starts

Keeping recyclable materials in the cycle instead of separating them

René Zumtobel, Tyrol's state councillor for the environment, wants to reduce the mountain of plastic waste.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

The one-way deposit on plastic bottles (PET) and cans from January 1, 2025 is intended to help conserve resources and avoid waste in nature. René Zumtobel (SPÖ), Tyrol's State Councillor for the Environment, presented details in Pfaffenhofen and explained the challenges that need to be overcome.

At the turn of the year, Tyroleans will be subject to new waste separation regulations. Where better to present them than in Pfaffenhofen. All of North Tyrol's plastic waste currently ends up there at the Höpperger company, with the majority being separated on site at the waste sorting plant operated by Tiroler Recycling GmbH & Co KG.

Blue garbage can for metal is history
From January 1, 2025, a 25-cent deposit will be charged on disposable plastic and metal drinks packaging. Bottles and (drinks) cans can then be returned to points of sale - such as supermarkets - and the deposit will be refunded.

Parallel to this innovation, the remaining plastic and metal packaging will be collected together in the "yellow bag" or yellow garbage can. The blue garbage can for metal is therefore history.

LR Zumtobel (left) and waste management representatives with the "yellow bag": From January 1, 2025, plastic packaging and cans must be placed together in this bag.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Sorting plastic waste for further processing in Pfaffenhofen.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Pre-sorting is still done manually at Tiroler Recycling GmbH & Co KG in Pfaffenhofen.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

"We are facing the challenge of keeping significantly more plastics in the cycle," explained Provincial Councillor René Zumtobel. This rate is currently only 25 percent across Austria and is set to double by the end of 2026. The EU has set a recycling rate of 90 percent by 2029. "Securing recyclable materials instead of separating waste" is Zumtobel's motto.

330 million PET bottles and cans per year
And the deposit system could also help to reduce pollution of the environment. Anyone who has paid a deposit for a PET bottle would probably not dispose of it in a green field, is the calculation.

According to Simon Parth, Managing Director of Recycling Pfand Österreich, there is potential in Tyrol to return around 330 million PET bottles and cans to the cycle every year. Supermarkets have invested sufficiently in reverse vending machines and the system would not become more expensive as a result of the innovations.

„Krone“-Kommentar

Am Ende kostet es dann doch mehr

When it comes to environmental protection, we are once again making an effort. That is basically a very good thing. When you see how much packaging waste is produced in a household in the space of a week, for example, then it seems absolutely appropriate to conserve resources even more and therefore rely on the deposit system.

However, Austria is not doing this entirely voluntarily. In fact, the EU has prescribed the change. The fact that the deposit system is associated with costs can be seen from the sheer number of different institutions involved. A Recycling Pfand Österreich GmbH is involved here, a packaging coordination office there.

After all, the EU not only prescribes, it also opens its purse strings. For example, the many new machines that "swallow" PET bottles and cans in supermarkets are also financed with EU funding. According to waste management representatives, the waste system would not become more expensive.

Behind closed doors, however, some insiders assume that drinks in PET deposit bottles will cost more in the foreseeable future. And I can already hear supermarket operators and restaurateurs complaining: more (cost) effort, higher prices. EU subsidies or not.