Circular Economy in Practice: Nationwide Packaging Recycling Campaign Launched in Austria

Altstoff Recycling Austria AG (ARA), together with its corporate partners, has launched the fourth edition of its educational initiative entitled “Jeder Wurf zählt” (Every Throw Counts). The main goal of the Austrian national campaign is to raise public awareness about the value of packaging materials as raw materials and to encourage the correct selective collection of light and metal packaging, ensuring these valuable resources remain in the economic loop.

The Educational Initiative Launches for the Fourth Time

Altstoff Recycling Austria AG (ARA), a leading player in Austria’s waste and circular economy, has been conducting sustainability communication for over 30 years. Its primary task is to make recycling processes visible and increase consumer awareness. The core concept is simple yet critical: only packaging that is collected separately in the correct waste bins can return to industrial production as valuable raw materials, thereby protecting the environment and natural resources.

The campaign format, specifically involving economic actors, was first launched in 2022. With this, ARA created a collaboration platform designed to purposefully and visibly promote the strengthening of the Circular Economy.

More Than 1,600 Surfaces and New Digital Directions

The visual messages of the 2026 campaign are displayed nationwide on over 1,600 billboards and digital screens (Digi-Screens). The distribution focuses on provincial capitals and densely populated urban agglomerations, accompanied by a comprehensive, year-round social media campaign. For the first time this year, the organizers are utilizing Digital Out-of-Home advertising to reach consumers at highly frequented junctions, such as busy train stations and shopping streets.

Also new this year is the introduction of the “Kreislauf-Helferlein” (Circular Helpers) characters. As the sympathetic ambassadors of the initiative, their task is to convincingly demonstrate correct waste sorting and take the Austrian public on an educational “circular journey”. Through knowledge sharing and concrete actions, they practically show what is needed for a well-functioning recycling system.

The Goal: Increasing the Current 65 Percent Recycling Quota

According to official statistics, the recycling rate for packaging materials in Austria currently stands at 65 percent (based on 2023 data). Harald Hauke, spokesperson for the ARA board of directors, emphasized that this figure must be further increased in the future through even more consistent residential sorting habits.

According to Hauke’s statement, the campaign is constantly looking for new ways to reach the widest possible audience and sensitize them to selective collection. “We still see potential that we can and must exploit together by properly collecting even more packaging for recycling. Every single throw into the correct bin counts,” the spokesperson emphasized, adding that correctly sorted packaging protects the environment, provides raw materials for the industry, and is the key to a functioning circular economy.

Key Players in the Austrian Economy for the Circular Economy

On the path to a sustainable future, the involvement of the corporate sector is essential. This year, well-known brands and companies operating in Austria have once again joined the public space campaign, such as Danone (with the Alpro brand), Werner & Mertz (with the Frosch brand), NÖM, Ölz der Meisterbäcker, and Woerle. Beyond the key partners, numerous other companies support the message via social media.

The representatives of the partner companies highlighted the following cornerstones regarding the cooperation:

• Isabel Petit (Managing Director, Danone Österreich): Promoting a functioning circular economy for packaging is a central element of the company’s sustainability strategy. Their goal is to pragmatically draw attention to the value inherent in every single packaging, emphasizing that every effective measure taken today brings them closer to their long-term climate goals.

• Florian F. Iro (Managing Director, Werner & Mertz Hallein): A functioning plastic cycle can only be achieved if all parts of the value chain work together. Together with Austrian partners, they have already proven that waste plastic from the “Yellow Bag” (Gelber Sack) can indeed be turned into new packaging, showing how easily the circular economy can be integrated into everyday life.

• Alfred Berger (Board Member, NÖM AG): The company currently uses at least 75 percent recycled material (rePET) in the PET bottles of its branded products. To ensure sufficient raw material is available for the production of new bottles, it is essential for the public to collect bottles in the Yellow Bag or Yellow Bin.

• Michael Tschütscher (Director of Finance, Controlling and Purchasing, Ölz der Meisterbäcker): The fundamental function of packaging is to protect products, ensure safe transport, and reduce food waste. The company’s principle in this regard is: “to use as little packaging material as possible and as much as is absolutely necessary.”

• Gerrit Woerle (Managing Director, Woerle): As a domestic family business, they take responsibility for ensuring that their own packaging actually stays in the economic loop, which is why they joined the ARA campaign for the first time this year, confirming that the campaign’s slogan represents everyday practice for them.

References and Official Sources:

• Source of the original press release: OTS.at – Mit „Jeder Wurf zählt“ stärken ARA und Wirtschaftspartner:innen das Bewusstsein für den Wertstoff Verpackung

• Official website of the organizing entity, Altstoff Recycling Austria AG (ARA): www.ara.at