The year 2023 represents a significant step forward in Austria’s recycling sector . By expanding collection – including plastic bottles and composite beverage cartons, as well as cups, bowls, foils and other plastic and metal packaging in the yellow bag and yellow bin – Austria is seeing a remarkable increase in the amount of lightweight and metal packaging collected. In total, more than 220,000 tons of these materials were collected nationwide, an increase of over 6% compared to the previous year . The increases were particularly impressive in the federal states of Vienna and Lower Austria . Here the amount collected increased by over 20%. These increases illustrate the successful implementation of the standardized collection in Lower Austria at the beginning of 2023, which enabled a collection increase of around 23%. St. Pölten city stands out with an increase of 59% , while Horn recorded an increase of 21% . Carinthia is also showing its strong side with a nationwide increase of around 15%. Klagenfurt city exceeds the general rate of increase with an increase of 20%. There were also slight increases in regions that already had comprehensive collection, such as Spittal an der Drau. Martin Ulke from Interzero emphasizes that increasing the amount collected is an important step, but alone is not enough to achieve the EU recycling quotas. The importance of the recyclability of packaging and the development of innovative methods such as chemical recycling are central to future success. Interzero, as a leading service provider in the circular economy, is committed to making the collection of packaging as easy as possible for citizens. These efforts are making a significant contribution to achieving the EU recycling quota for plastics and are making a significant contribution to climate and environmental protection. Read more about our progress in recycling and how you can contribute!

• Yellow bag and yellow bin can now do more: New recycling collection system brings a regional collection increase of over 20%