Returnable PET bottles make a comeback in Austria
The Road Show has made its first visit to Austria! On 20 April, Austria’s leading mineral water producer Vöslauer, a subsidiary of the Ottakringer brewery, held a press conference on the reintroduction of the returnable PET bottle. Interestingly, these reusable bottles were first around thirteen years ago, before vanishing from the shelves due to a lack of consumer interest. However, this is all set to change again, with a renewed focus on sustainability and resource conservation.
Over the years, Vöslauer have been consistent innovators in numerous areas. For example, since 2018, they have firmly established 100% rPET bottles on the market. Since August 2020, Vöslauer have also been fitting tethered caps to various products. And there are other innovations that are currently in the planning stage in terms of implementing the EU Directive.
The press conference was held at the factory in Bad Vöslau, near Vienna. As some of our road show team are currently based in the capital, namely Heike Fischer and myself, we planned our first Austrian road show to coincide with this media event. We also decided to use the “Editourtrain” instead of a car given the “Editourmobil” is currently on the road in Germany and the fact that the factory was only around 30 minutes away from Vienna by public transport.
On arrival at the site, we and the other journalists were met by Vöslauer bosses Mrs Birgit Eichinger and Mr Herbert Schlossnikl, together with Austria’s Climate Protection Minister, Leonore Gewessler and the Managing Director at Greenpeace, Alexander Egit. Here, they talked about the future direction of the reusable sector, the reasons for the earlier disappearance of the returnable PET bottle from the market and the advantages now resulting from the consistent increase in return and recycling rates.
Afterwards, we were given an insight into the state-of-the-art production plant. With the cameras rolling, the new Krones returnable PET facility, equipped with a sophisticated bottle washing system to protect the containers from unsightly scratching, was officially opened. After the tour, we were able to interview Herbert Schlossnikl who provided us with an overview of the company’s history, its future projects and further expansion of their reusable programme. We were then served with delicious snacks accompanied by various Vöslauer drinks before travelling back to Vienna by train, that is by Editourtrain, in glorious imperial weather, each of us with new returnable 1-litre Vöslauer bottles in our bags!
Yours
Kay Barton
Editor
