“Sending metal containers into retirement” There are also developments in waste management. When the – at that time still grey – containers for the collection of packaging metal were introduced in 1991, this was a necessary step to avoid having to deposit recyclables with the residual waste. A lot has changed since then. Until the early 1990s, the majority of recyclables were still deposited with the residual waste due to the lack of waste separation. On the one hand, this caused landfills to be overfilled and, on the other, valuable raw materials were lost. In addition to waste paper, yellow bins and waste glass, containers with grey lids were also introduced in which the easily recyclable metal packaging was collected. The bins for waste glass and metal packaging were organized in waste collection islands in a relatively dense network in order to be as close to households as possible. However, this density and the insufficient collection rate made the system uneconomical, which is why it was reorganized in 2007. A change was made from a dumping system, in which the contents of the bin are tipped into the garbage truck, to a lifting system, in which emptying is done using a crane truck. As part of the changeover, the color of the metal packaging containers was changed to the blue used in the rest of Austria. There was also room for improvement with the yellow bin in Lower Austria. From 2006, each district decided on its own type of collection, which unfortunately led to difficult communication of waste separation in practice. In Lower Austria, it was decided to standardize collection again by 2023. The solution was to jointly collect all packaging made of plastic, metal and other, more exotic, packaging materials such as wood and porcelain. Only packaging made of paper (red bin) and glass is still collected separately. For many people, throwing in metal cans and capsules represents a certain mental hurdle, as the previous pure plastic packaging collection has become well established and the step to joint collection was not entirely understandable. What hardly anyone knows, however, is that this has already been the case in individual districts, and the recyclable materials collected in the yellow bins in the district were also processed in the same sorting plant. The merging is therefore not a problem for the recycling process, but the rule for waste separation is easier: All commercial packaging - except glass and paper - can go in the yellow bin. By 2023, 4.3 kg of metal packaging was collected per inhabitant annually in the Melk district. This corresponds to ~ 75 liters, which for a household of 5 people results in a volume of 375 liters per year. It was therefore decided to increase the number of yellow bin emptyings per year from 9 to 13 in order to provide enough space for disposal, which results in an additional volume of 960 l. Whether this increase will continue after the introduction of the disposable deposit will be evaluated next year and ultimately determined by the ARA packaging system for the Melk district. The blue containers therefore became obsolete after the changeover. In the Melk district, the aim was to convert these containers and keep them as an additional service for the population. Ultimately, it was found that the blue containers were not accepted in this sense. Many incorrect disposals, deposits of various kinds and other problems make the continuation of the collection system uneconomical. At the end of the year, the containers will therefore be gradually removed and recycled. Metal packaging such as pet food containers, cans, bottle caps, etc. should be thrown into the yellow bin as packaging, and everyday metal objects such as tools, dishes, cutlery, screws, etc. can also be handed in at the 10 recycling centers (WSZ) as usual. From 2025, however, caution must be exercised with beverage containers! Like all beverage containers between 0.1 l and 3 l, beverage cans are subject to the one-way deposit regulation and should be returned to specialist retailers, where you will get the 25 cents back when you return them. However, you must not crush them, as otherwise the machines will no longer be able to recognise the cans and will refuse to take them back.
| 
| 