Mehrweg als entscheidender Beitrag zur nachhaltigen Kreislaufwirtschaft

The globally prevailing linear economic model, which is characterised by intensive resource consumption and a high volume of waste, is leading to serious environmental impacts, which are reflected in climate change, the loss of biodiversity and increasing environmental pollution. This global crisis calls on society and politicians to take action. The European Union is striving to achieve climate neutrality with the European Green Deal. The circular economy package firmly anchored in it sets out measures to conserve resources and avoid waste from particularly resource-intensive products, including packaging. The circular economy model aims to keep products in the value-added cycle for as long as possible, thereby conserving resources, avoiding waste and reducing energy consumption. The use of reusable systems offers the opportunity to make a decisive contribution to the circular economy of consumer goods such as packaging. Various reusable packaging models offer different solutions and differ in terms of the ownership of the packaging and the place where the packaging is returned or refilled. The Austrian reusable landscape is primarily characterised by reusable beverages and transport packaging. However, in addition to the ecological aspects, well-designed reusable systems can also bring other benefits for companies, such as long-term cost savings, improved brand image and the development of new target groups. Although the market is currently heavily dominated by single-use packaging, the efforts of the EU, increasing environmental awareness in society and various projects about reusable packaging offer the opportunity to pave the way towards a sustainable circular economy.