The Deposit Ordinance comes into force in Austria on 1 January 2025.
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From 2025, Austria will have a deposit system for single-use beverage packaging. This will also entail new obligations for companies that produce or place the packaging in question on the market.
In Austria, the introduction of a deposit system is enshrined in law as part of the amendment to the Austrian Waste Management Act. The deposit ordinance for single-use beverage packaging contains additional regulations for the planning and implementation of the Austrian deposit system. With the entry into force of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the introduction of a deposit system for single-use beverage packaging and metal beverage containers will be mandatory for all EU Member States. The introduction of a deposit system aims to achieve several objectives:
From 2025, a collection rate of at least 80% should be achieved in Austria, and from 2027, a collection rate of at least 90%, which will strengthen the circular economy. The deposit motivates consumers to return products to the take-back company. This will reduce environmental pollution (littering). The material loop enables high quality recycling of packaging waste and reuse of recycled material in beverage containers. Overall, the deposit system makes an important contribution to environmental protection.
Today, there are a number of established deposit systems in Europe. The Scandinavian countries Sweden (1984), Iceland (1989) and Norway (1999) are the pioneers of the deposit system. Germany also introduced a deposit scheme in 2003. Other deposit schemes have been introduced in recent years, such as in Slovakia (2022), Romania (2023) and Hungary (2024). Many other countries are currently working on the introduction and implementation of a deposit system.
From 1 January 2025, a deposit of €0.25 will be charged on all plastic beverage bottles and metal cans between 0.1 and 3 litres that are placed on the Austrian market.
Deposit-liable products must be marked with the deposit symbol and a new barcode so that manual returners and reverse vending machines can recognise the containers as deposit-liable.
Milk and milk products, syrups, bottles for baby food, liquid food for special medical purposes and daily rations for weight control are excluded from the deposit system. Glass or metal bottles with plastic caps and lids and composite beverage cartons are also exempt.
There is a transitional period until the end of 2025. This means that products without a deposit symbol that were filled before 1 April 2024 can continue to be sold until the end of 2025.
As a company, you can play different roles. On the one hand, you can take on the role of first distributor and/or take-back company.
An initial distributor can be an Austrian producer or an importer placing single-use beverage packaging and cans on the Austrian market for the first time. Initial distributors have to comply with many new obligations, which can be challenging:
In principle, every final distributor of deposit-liable beverage packaging is obliged to take back the empty containers. There are also new obligations for those who take back single-use beverage packaging:
Services for manufacturers/importers based in Austria:
We register your packaging quantities with the Central Office (including submission of samples). This means that we fulfil your reporting obligations and also take care of the ongoing data maintenance in the Central Office’s register (including the registration of new packaging subject to a deposit).
Services for foreign companies without a registered office in Austria that supply end-consumers or sell to resellers (= preliminary obligation):
We register your packaging quantities with the Central Office (including submission of samples). In doing so, we fulfil your reporting obligations and also take care of the ongoing data maintenance in the Central Office’s register (including the registration of new packaging subject to deposit).
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