EUWID special topic on single-use deposits: Austria introduces right of first refusal and eco-modulation
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The new deposit system for single-use plastic and metal beverage containers will be introduced in Austria on January 1, 2025. With the beverage industry's right of first refusal, the country is taking a different approach to Germany.
Unlike the German deposit system, Austria also has an “eco-modulation” system that is based on the composition of the packaging and is intended to enable high-quality recycling.
The metal packaging industry can sit back and relax with regard to eco-modulation. Producers of aluminum cans confirmed to EUWID that they do not use “material-specific recycling incompatible” products. Neither composite materials nor tinplate or plastic closures, PVC labels or non-EuPIA-compliant printing inks and paints are used.
The situation is different for plastic drinks packaging: Here, for example, all materials (PET, HDPE, PP) - in addition to numerous other components - non-wet-strength paper labels and metallized labels fall under the material-specific recycling incompatibilities. Wet-strength paper labels, on the other hand, are considered “good material”.
