In Austria’s capital, streets lined with neatly sorted bins reflect the country’s reputation as a recycling pioneer. They are currently the leading country in the world when it comes to recycling, according to a report from Eunomia Research.

In January the country will take it one step further, by implementing a deposit return system (DRS) for plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

“According to an analysis done by the European Environment Agency and published in 2022, Austria is on track to meet the 2025 recycling target for both municipal and packaging waste. However, the country seems to not be on track to meet the recycling target for plastic packaging,” says Almut Reichel, EEA expert on circular economy and waste.

The new system will mirror the already present and successful DRS in place in Austria for glass containers. Plastic bottles and aluminum cans will cost an extra €25-cents when purchased. The deposit will be refunded upon return to designated, collection machines that will be placed at points of purchase: grocery stores and various kiosks.

For some Austrians, like Hans Ehmayer, who is already in the habit of returning his glass bottles to specific sorting machines to recollect his deposit, the move promises an even cleaner environment.  

“It will stop people from littering,” he says.

 High school students Mira Mahringer (16) and Ruxandra Boangiu (16), are not too happy about the new system.

They say it feels like an added inconvenience.   

“I’m often on the go,” Mahringer says, “I don’t think I will be looking for a supermarket just to return one bottle.”   

The two 16-year-olds believe that the new system will only cost them more money, as they anticipate it to be more time-consuming and inconvenient to return the bottles and get back their deposit.

“Now, we have a separate bin outside our home where the plastic bottles go,” they state, and conclude that the current way of recycling works well for them.

The Current System

Until January 1^st, Austria’s recycling return program is based on basic access to proper sorting facilities, and organized separated waste pick up: organic waste, wastepaper, and plastic packaging.

The country has had an extended producer responsibility for packaging material since 1993. Meaning, packaging producers are directly responsible for the collection and recycling of the packaging they produce.  

Altstoff Recycling Austria (ARA), founded in 1993,  organizes this obligation of producers through licensing regulations. Every ton of packaging comes at a cost to the producer, and a profit to ARA. The funds they receive go towards the collection and recycling of the packaging materials.

“One of the key drivers of success is the collaboration between the public and private sectors. ARA works very closely with a broad network of manufacturers, retailers, and waste management companies to streamline recycling operations and create a system that benefits both consumers and businesses,”

ARA – Altstoff Recycling Austria AG

“They have established a rather good system,” says Johann Fellner, professor at the University of Technology in Vienna, referring to the current collection system, which allows Austria to reach an overall recycling rate of 58%, the global champion according to Eunomia.

 However, Fellner explains comparing that recycling rates across different countries can be difficult as data collection methods have not been universal in the past.

In Germany, a plastic bottle has been recorded as recycled as soon as it was tossed int he seperate collection bin. In Austria, a bottle has been counted as recycled when it has arrived at a recycling facility.

Despite the challenges of collecting universal data, “when it comes to recycling, we would definitely be in the top 5%, but when it comes to plastics, we are almost last in all of Europe,” says Fellner. 

More to Be Done

The obligation to reach targets set by the EU drove the implementation of this deposit system in Austria. 

Austria’s overall recycling rate may be the highest in Europe, but its plastic packaging recycling rate is among the lowest. Sitting at a rate of 25%, well below the European average of 41%, according to the EU.

With targets set by the EU, Austria and all other EU nations must strive to recycle 65% of all packaging waste by 2025. Austria is on track to meet all targets, except for plastics packaging.

Despite being a country with such an extensive recycling and waste management system, a DRS for plastic and aluminum cans is missing, unlike many other European countries.

Source: Emma McGrath

Why there is not a DRS in Austria

Walking around the grocery stores in Vienna, it is almost impossible not to notice the new machines that are already installed and ready to be used when the deposit system begins in under a month. 

In 2020 the Austrian Federal Ministry of Climate Action and Energy conducted a study on options to increase plastic capture rates. Concluding that only a DRS will achieve the goal of a 90% separate collection rate for plastic beverage bottles as stipulated in the EU directive on Single-Use-Plastics.

Littering and Recycling

Recycling systems and littering may be two separate problems, however they do fit hand in hand.  

If there is an efficient recycling program available, it will not be effective if the materials do not enter it in the first place. This is why increased pressure is placed on separate collection. To ensure the recycling systems will work as intended.  

For the efficient recycling systems to work, and for plastic bottles to have the opportunity to be recycled as long as their properties allow, they must first be separated accordingly.  

The new DRS system is designed to increase the return of plastics into the recycling system.

“The worst type of litter is always the first,” says Katharina Gangl, an economic and social psychologist specializing in behavioural economics currently working at the Institute of Advanced Studies, highlighting the cascading effect of waste left in public spaces.

 A single piece of trash can weaken the social norm of proper disposal, Increasing the consensus that it is acceptable to litter.  

Gangl advocates for not only an economic incentivization program but also the importance of combating the problem at the grassroots level through education.  

One barrier to addressing littering is public perception. Some see touching litter as unpleasant or unhygienic, while others feel it is acceptable to pick up and properly dispose of trash left by others. Gangl believes it’s vital to shift attitudes to the latter.

“We don’t want to just motivate people to sort their own garbage,” Gangl says, “We want them to feel it’s okay to pick up someone else’s trash as well.”

The solution to this is to reframe waste as a resource of value, rather than something dirty or undesirable.  

Littering is often linked to deeper societal challenges, such as mental health struggles, substance abuse, and social group dynamics. Traditional education campaigns may not reach those most prone to littering, but they can empower others to act.

Time Will Tell

The main advantage of the DRS will be “that the bottles and cans will come back into the recycling cycle,’ says Gangl.

Each year 1.6 billion plastic bottles are put on the market in Austria.  

“This system will definitely increase the return rate. If it will affect the consumption rate, we will see in a few years,” says Fellner, “to decrease the consumption rates was not the main motivation for implementing the new system.”

Gangl on the other hand, seems sure on her case:

“Consumption rates themselves will not be affected, because you will get the money back,” she says referring to the €25-cent deposit.

Time will tell if the new deposit system will affect Austrian consumption habits. It is agreed upon that the system will certainly increase the return rate of plastic and aluminum packaging.

Materials that re-enter the recycling cycle, and stay out of landfills and off the streets, contribute to a system that maximizes materials through recycling while creating a clean environment.

Getting the last percent: Recycling as a Greenwashing Tool

Focus on boosting recycling rates can deflect attention from the real environmental impacts of plastics. Recycled plastics remain at risk of eventually entering the environment, particularly if they escape waste management systems later in their life.

By achieving high recycling targets, the plastics industry can present itself as sustainable, even though the underlying issue of overproduction and excessive plastic consumption remains unaddressed. Reinforcing a false sense of security among consumers and policymakers in the sustainability of plastics diverts attention from efforts to reduce plastic use altogether.

As recycling targets increase, the effort, cost, and complexity required to collect and recycle materials grows too. 

First Percentages are Easy

Professor Fellner is unsure whether the cost of the new system is worth it. 

“What we know is that the higher the recycling rate gets, the more effort we need to put into recycling,” he says, before explaining an experiment he makes his students conduct to explain the process of recycling material.

His students are given a glass of sugar, and measure how much sugar it contains. They are then told to pour the salt out on the floor and try to recollect it all into the glass again.

“What becomes very obvious when we do so, is that the first 50% are rather easy to recollect. It takes less time and less effort. The last 5% or 10% are taking a very long time. Something similar we see in waste management,” the professor states.

He tells us that the first percentages of waste are quite easy to recycle.

“But when we get to a rather high recycling rate, then it’s getting really energy and time expensive. Maybe it might even turn out that it doesn’t make sense to go for a high recycling rate, because the effort of collecting and sorting everything is higher,” says Fellner.

A common misconception is increased recycling rates equal a solution to plastic pollution, whereas, in reality, plastic coming from developed European nations has a limited impact on the global plastic pollution crisis.  

Fellner explains, speaking on data, that 99% of ocean plastic pollution originates from countries lacking adequate waste management infrastructure, not from European countries with already high, developed recycling systems.

“Higher recycling rates in countries like Austria or Denmark have little effect on the primary sources of plastic pollution,” says Fellner.

Right Way to Go

Norway has a long history of deposit return systems, dating back to 1902. The DRS practiced today has been in place since 1999, resulting in a successful return rate of 92.8%.  

Kjell Olav Maldum, the managing director of Infinitum, the corporation operating the deposit system in Norway, is clear on why he believes a deposit system is the right way to go to make people recycle.

“We document that a deposit system for material reuse provides the highest environmental performance at the lowest possible cost,” he states.

Despite Austria being behind when it comes to a deposit scheme, Maldum shows an understanding of why they have not implemented it until now.

“It is always a challenge when you have good systems to find time for further development. They have done so now,” he states.

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