Inhaltsverzeichnis
PRESS RELEASE – Economy / Recycling / Vienna – Vienna, 30 June 2022
From now on, all Austrians can use the successful RecycleMich app to collect their empty plastic, aluminium and beverage carton packaging and get rewarded for recycling it correctly. After RecycleMich was launched in the pilot region of Vienna just over a year ago, all federal states have now been integrated into the app.
RecycleMich combines digitalisation, educational work and awareness raising. The initiative aims to raise awareness among the population for proper waste separation, because only together can we succeed in collecting and recycling more recyclables. Unfortunately, around 150,000 tonnes of valuable packaging end up in residual waste or even in nature in Austria every year. In addition, according to Greenpeace, Austria produces 24% more plastic waste than the European average*. The RecycleMich app is designed to address this issue and create incentives for consumers to encourage environmentally friendly behaviour: scan empty packaging with the app, register recycling containers, dispose of items correctly in the designated bins or yellow sacks, collect points and win – this is the principle of the RecycleMich app, which has been operating very successfully in the pilot region of Vienna for almost a year and a half. Around half a million packages of beverages, detergents and cleaning agents, cosmetics and food supplements have been registered in the app since it was launched. For products from partner companies such as Coca-Cola Austria, Delta Pronatura, Eckes-Granini, Henkel, Innocent and RedBull, users even receive additional points for proper collection. Attractive and sustainable prizes can be won weekly and monthly, such as the organic fruit and vegetable box from the ADAMAH organic farm.
Austria-wide roll-out starting in July
Now the operator of the innovative recycling app, the internationally operating RecycleMe GmbH, has taken the next step by making RecycleMe available throughout Austria. ‘We are incredibly proud of the success of our recycling app so far,’ says Stefan Siegl*, Head of Digital Innovation at RecycleMe. ‘According to Statistics Austria, there were around 4,020,000 Austrian private households in 2021. It is our clear goal to motivate all these households to recycle correctly. That is why we are very pleased that we have succeeded in further developing the RecycleMich app technically and enabling the roll-out throughout Austria. From now on, all citizens in the federal states will also have the chance to win attractive prizes by recycling in an exemplary manner.’
Lidl is a new partner at RecycleMich
Not only geographically there are successes to report, also on the lottery level the RecycleMich team has news: Lidl Austria is the new partner for the weekly and monthly draws and is providing users of the app with shopping vouchers for the whole of Austria. The logo of the RecycleMich app, including a QR code, will soon be appearing on labels for the Saskia and Freeway brands. This is intended to make consumers more aware of the correct way to collect and dispose of their empty packaging. ‘Our vision is: less plastic – closed loops. Together, we want to advance the circular economy and create the conditions for making the recycling and sorting of plastic packaging as easy as possible for everyone. That is why we support the RecycleMy initiative, which can make an important contribution here,’ says Alessandro Wolf, CEO of Lidl Austria.
For Stefan Siegl**, the expansion of the RecycleMich initiative to the whole of Austria is a prime example of future-oriented models in the modern circular economy, in which different players along the value chain successfully work together. ‘In this way, packaging manufacturers across the product range take responsibility for motivating consumers to recycle properly. Partners and supporters of the initiative provide attractive prizes to reward exemplary behaviour. And with our innovative app, we at RecycleMe provide a platform that enables this cooperation while also raising awareness of the sustainable use of valuable resources. Only by working together will we succeed in increasing Austria’s recycling rates and meeting European recycling targets,’ says Siegl.
New recycling guide to be introduced soon
RecycleMich is not resting on its laurels, though. On the one hand, there is still a long way to go before a deposit system for single-use beverage containers is introduced, and on the other hand, the team is working on further useful features for app users, because a large number of valuable packaging or products are not affected by the deposit. Nevertheless, these recyclable materials must be collected correctly so that they can be returned to the cycle: the prototype of a recycling guide, which provides information about the respective packaging and, depending on the region, helps to separate and dispose of it correctly, is already in the test phase and will soon be available to the community.
Voices of the partners
Mark Joainig, Director Corporate Affairs & Sustainability, Coca-Cola HBC Österreich
‘As a manufacturer, we want to keep all of our packaging in the recycling loop. The roll-out of RecycleMich is an important step in motivating all of Austria to collect packaging in the right way. As the Coca-Cola System, we are pleased that this joint initiative is growing and inspiring consumers!’
Heidi Harbeck, General Manager, delta pronatura Handels GmbH
‘Incentivising recycling makes a highly relevant contribution to a functioning recycling loop. That is why Dr. Beckmann is part of the RecycleMich initiative and we are very pleased to be able to support it throughout Austria.’
Thomas Parkfrieder, Managing Director Eckes-Granini Austria GmbH
‘With the Austria-wide roll-out of the RecycleMich app, not only do all participants win, but the environment also benefits in particular. In times like these, empty PET bottles are valuable raw materials that can be returned to the packaging cycle through proper recycling.’
Mag. Markus Schwarzenbacher, Managing Director Espara GmbH:
‘I am glad to have employees who, in the spirit of Espara, are committed to the topic of environmental protection and sustainability, both professionally and privately. Otherwise, the cooperation with RecycleMich would never have come about.’
Jaroslava Haid-Jarkova, General Manager Henkel Laundry & Home Care Österreich, and Bernhard Voit, General Manager Henkel Beauty Care Consumer Österreich
‘Henkel has been a partner of #RecycleMe since the beginning, because innovative and digital approaches like this app are the right way to make recycling attractive. We are all the more pleased that the app is now available throughout Austria.’
Stefanie Schwaiger, innocent Brand & Portfolio Lead Österreich
‘At innocent, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. All our smoothie and juice packaging – from the bottle to the label to the lid – is 100% recyclable. As recycling activists, we want to collect and recycle every single smoothie and juice bottle by 2030. To achieve this, innocent supports the RecycleMich initiative. This is how we at innocent are making our contribution to a functioning circular economy.’
*https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/waste/data/database
**Please note: Stefan Siegl no longer works for our company. Your new point of contact for RecycleMich is Ines Kilnhofer. If you have any questions about RecycleMich, please feel free to contact us at hallo@recyclemich.at.
Photo: People from left to right: Barbara Gur (Sustainability Manager Henkel Beauty Care Consumer Austria), Markus Schwarzenbacher (Managing Director Espara GmbH), Isabelle Haslinger (Sustainability Manager Henkel Laundry and Homecare Austria), Gottfried Biegl mayer (Managing Director Reclay Systems), Mark Joainig (Director Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Coca-Cola HBC Austria), Thomas Parkfrieder, Managing Director Eckes-Granini Austria GmbH), Ines Kilnhofer (Head of Marketing of the RecycleMich Initiative)
