In the first half of 2017, Austria’s leading packaging collection system operator Altstoff Recycling Austria (ARA, Vienna; www.ara.at) collected more than half a million tonnes of packaging and waste paper – 534,000 t to be precise. This corresponds to a 0.9% increase against the previous year. Local households collected approximately 319,000 t of waste paper by the end of June, representing only a slight rise of 0.3% against H1 2016. Lightweight packaging, including plastics, increased by 2.9% to 85,000 t and metal packaging saw a rise of 1.5% to 15,000 t. The collection volume for glass was at 114,000 t in the first six months, a rise of 1.2%.

ARA CEO Christoph Scharff commented that Austria has been a leading country for recycling for years. He attributed the country’s long-standing top position to the successful cooperation between industry, municipalities and private disposal companies. The fact that collected waste volumes have increased only slowly for the last few years proved that there was only a “limited growth potential” left in many regions.

Two months ago, ARA acknowledged increasing competition in the Austrian recycling sector, all the while underlining that it would keep its leading market position.