Who says „plastic packaging reduction“, must also say reusable

GLOBAL 2000, welcomes the Comeback of the reusable milk bottle by the mountain country of milk.

Vienna (OTS) – Berglandmilch has announced today, until the end of the year the cash again to bring the filling One-Liter glass bottles on the market. „Today’s announcement of mountain land milk, to reusable milk bottles to upgrade, both for the environment and for the consumers the ground-breaking and extremely gratifying. To a is reduced by the introduction of packaging waste, on the other, it increases the reusable share in the shelves. It is to be hoped that this is the beginning of a reversal of the trend, and soon there will be a higher percentage of returnable bottles in the shelves of the local supermarkets,“ says Lisa Kernegger, Ecologist of the Austrian environmental protection organisation GLOBAL 2000, pleased. Because of the returnable share of the drinks in the year 2000, about 60 percent, he is currently stable at 22 percent.

According to the government’s Plan to reduce by 2025 the number of plastic packaging by 20 to 25 percent compared to 2016. How exactly it will be implemented is still in discussion. By the end of September, regular working meetings are held with various stakeholders in the Ministry, where GLOBAL 2000 representatives in a constructive and active and participate. To reusable, no discussion, passes on this issue. To should „first of all, the best refillable system for beverages to be expanded again,“ Kern explains EGGER. In the food retail sector, de facto, is currently, for many products, no freedom of choice for consumers to opt for reusable bottles, as these are not offered for a lot of products in supermarkets – also in the dairy for many years.

„It needs urgent legal measures which lead to an increase in the returnable beverage containers“, calls for nuclear EGGER. There are clear targets must be defined. By 2025, 65 per cent should be reusable, bottles with a Deposit system, by 2030 the share should rise to 70 percent. In order for a consumer to identify at a glance which beverage containers are the most environmentally friendly, there must be also a legal labeling requirement for reusable containers.

„In the long term, reusable for drinks is not enough, however, to achieve the government’s target of plastic packaging the reduction of a quarter. Therefore, must also be accelerated in other areas, reusable alternatives, and be built,“ the core concern, EGGER concludes.

Lydia Matzka-Saboi, GLOBAL 2000 spokeswoman, 0699 14 2000 26, lydia.matzka@global2000.at
Lisa Kernegger, GLOBAL 2000, Ecologist, 0699 14 2000 22, lisa.kernegger@global2000.at