For EPR think ERP... in Austria

The team at European Recycling Platform (ERP) in Austria presents the latest news.

Important changes for foreign packaging distributors

7 December 2022

Foreign distributors of packaging in Austria will face important changes as of 1 January 2023.

In addition to the obligation to participate in a packaging scheme, distance sellers without a registered office in Austria must then appoint an authorised representative with a registered office in the country and notify the competent ministry by 31 December at the latest, together with a notarial certification of the authorisation. If not, companies may face a distribution ban.

The same requirement applies to foreign manufacturers or distributors who not only deliver to private final consumers in Austria, and who fulfil the packaging obligations of their Austrian resellers.

Landbell Group company, ERP Austria supports companies in complying with their obligations under the Packaging Ordinance in Austria. EASyShop also offers a simple and easy one-stop solution for household and commercial packaging to ensure your company stays legally compliant in Austria in 2023.

Austria harmonises packaging collection

On 1 January 2023, Austria will set into force its new Packaging Ordinance, requiring all plastic packaging to be jointly collected in either a yellow bin or a yellow bag. Until now, there had been different collection practices in the nine federal states.

Plastic packaging that needs to be jointly collected includes plastic bottles, beverage cartons or sausage and cheese packaging. According to industry experts, the new regulation could increase the collection of plastic packaging by 20%.

In the federal states of Carinthia, Lower Austria, Salzburg and Vienna, as well as parts of Upper Austria, metal and aluminium packaging – for example, beverage and food cans – can also be disposed of in the yellow bin or yellow bag from 2023. In the remaining federal states of Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Burgenland, the joint collection of plastic and metal packaging will only start in 2025.