Corona Fallout : The pandemic brings waste glass collection to a record high
Austrians collected waste glass more diligently than ever before in the Corona year 2020. Glass packaging was in greater demand than usual, and the collection performance of waste glass reached a record high, Austria Glas Recycling announced today. In total, more than 270,000 tons of waste glass were handed over to the glass industry for recycling, which was 9,000 tons more than in 2019. The average per capita output of 29.4 kilograms was also higher than in 2019 (28.5 kilograms).
It was possible to maintain disposal largely unhindered despite lockdowns caused by the pandemic, said Harald Hauke, managing director of Austria Glas Recycling. According to a survey from December 2020, 95 percent separate glass and the satisfaction of the population is very high at 94 percent, the press release continues.
There is currently a heated debate in the central European country about whether a deposit should be introduced on plastic bottles. Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) is stepping up the fight against plastic waste with reference to other european Countries. Germany achieves a plastic collection rate of 98 percent, Croatia 96 percent and the Netherlands 95 percent. A deposit system should bring the Austrian numbers up. Together with Austria, there are currently ten countries such as France or Spain that are discussing such a solution, ten countries such as Germany or Sweden are already working with an active deposit system, and in eight countries from Portugal to Slovakia, the discussions have led to implementing the deposit system in the next one to two years, Abl reported.
A deposit system is needed in Austria, however, because like every EU country, there is a requirement to avoid plastic waste. The EU directive on single-use plastic stipulates that at least 77 percent of plastic beverage bottles, of which 1.6 billion are currently put into circulation in Austria each year, must be collected separately and also recycled by 2025 and at least 90 percent by 2029. Currently, the collection rate in Austria is still 70 percent.