Since January 1st, all plastics and packaging throughout Austria have been thrown into the yellow bin. This increases the amount of materials collected in the household, which is why the bins are almost always overfilled. In addition, each piece must still be thrown through the insertion holes individually, since the yellow lids are not intended to be opened.
The new recycling rules are therefore not fully popular everywhere. Since the beginning of the year, the anger has not only been vented in social networks. Sometimes disgruntled people lent a hand themselves, forcibly opened the bin lids or loosened them.
The reason for the switch was Austria’s lagging behind in the recycling rate: it is currently around 25 percent, but according to EU regulations it must double by 2025 – a major project that can only be achieved with a significant increase in the collection volume. The latest figures for the first quarter now show that things are going in the right direction. The first data for Vienna showed two weeks ago that the federal capital recorded an increase of around 20 percent in the collection volume. It is now clear that the numbers are also increasing in the rest of the federal states. In Lower Austria it was also around 20 percent, in Carinthia twelve, in Salzburg around ten, as the ARA told ORF.at.
Still not quite the same
The respective increases are different because the systems were different before. The four federal states mentioned previously had a mono-collection, here they switched to the joint collection of all lightweight packaging. In Upper Austria, different regional systems are still in use, in other federal states there have been no changes for the time being. In Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Burgenland, lightweight packaging is currently also collected together, but metal packaging is collected separately. The highest increases were, of course, where plastic and metal were previously collected separately and now both come together.
Only a little goes into the fire, the thermal recycling, such as candy paper, says Hans Baumgartner from the ARA to ORF.at. “Small pieces of plastic fall out of the separation process because they are often mixed plastics that have not yet been designed with recycling in mind.”
Both the ARA and the Climate Ministry also want to dispel the legend that allegedly collected plastic is incinerated to increase the calorific value. “It’s a fairy tale,” the ministry said to ORF.at. Only heavily contaminated or non-recyclable materials are problematic. According to Baumgartner, such a process would also be far too complex. If recyclable plastic were actually to be used thermally, a very uneconomical flue gas cleaning would have to be carried out again.
Gamechanger Pfandsystem
However, the previous changes were only an intermediate step before the next big innovation: the deposit system, which should gain a foothold in Austria from 2025. Then the majority of the plastic bottles and cans should disappear into the deposit machines and no longer in the yellow bin – an undertaking whose plans in Austria go back many decades.
First attempts towards a deposit system
The considerations for a nationwide deposit system in Austria are not new. The first attempts were made as early as the early 1980s, as a look at the ORF archive shows.
All in all, Austria should reach the quota, as ARA and the Ministry of Climate think. “In addition to the uniform collection, we have also taken other measures,” the ministry said to ORF.at. Even with the planned deposit, “we ensure that plastic bottles are brought back and recycled instead of ending up in nature. In addition, there are also subsidies for investments in modern sorting systems so that the waste can be recycled in the best possible way.”
hen and egg
The question is whether the quota can then also be met, since the deposit system, like the quota requirement, will come into force in 2025. “It’s only difficult with the current changeover,” says Astrid Allesch from the Institute for Waste Management and Circular Economy at BOKU. “It will work out together with the deposit, then there will be a high response rate. Only: Separate collection alone is not recycling, you also need appropriate systems, their planning and construction. So far, Austria has lagged behind, it’s a chicken-and-egg problem. But a lot has happened recently,” Allesch told ORF.at.
More difficult but easier
For collectors, the question of user-friendliness remains. The authorities see this as a result of the standardization of the systems. The collection has so far been regulated so inconsistently, often there have even been different specifications within the individual federal states, according to the Ministry of Climate Protection. “This has repeatedly led to many people not knowing which plastic waste belongs in the yellow bin or yellow bag. Because, for example, collection at work or at school was regulated differently than at home.” It has now become easier for everyone.
According to the City of Vienna, the current condition of the yellow bins – lid closed, insertion holes – has good reason. The insertion holes are designed for standard packaging with a diameter of around 20 centimetres. This improves the collection, because it reduces misses from about 40 to ten percent. Nothing has changed since the new rules were introduced. But there shouldn’t be any more yellow bins in the near future, especially not before the deposit starts.
Balance in the end positive
“It also depends on whether it is a pick-up or delivery system,” says ARA expert Baumgartner. “In Vienna, bringing the collected rubbish is done anonymously, so it is not noticeable if you throw away something wrong. In the rest of Austria there is mainly a pick-up system: the bins are often right in front of the family home.”
Allesch from BOKU sees the advantages, but also understands the annoyance. “The new rules are easier for both the citizens and for waste management,” says Allesch. The fact that the bins cannot be opened, unlike waste paper, is due to security. “Of course it would be nice if there was always a smaller residual waste bin in the house and a larger yellow bin instead. Of course, such a change is also a long-term process.” Allesch would also have liked to see new regulations and the deposit system introduced at the same time. “But overall it is currently a clever solution.”
