Vienna tests new deposit collection modules
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In Vienna, Austria, the University of Vienna began a pilot project to test new deposit collection modules on its campus.
Currently, people in Vienna can return deposit-bearing bottles and cans by taking them home, discarding them as trash, or leaving them next to trash bins. The university is installing five modules in a courtyard to see how well people use them and how the technology performs.
The university is partnering with SocialCycle, a company that already operates 100 similar modules in Austria and Germany. These modules differ from traditional deposit rings because they are designed to discourage people from leaving other trash with the bottles and cans. SocialCycle’s Rafael Schwarz explained that the smaller surface area of the modules reduces the chance of accidental or intentional littering. Other areas of Vienna are also experimenting with deposit collection.
The Museumsquartier has had deposit containers for a year, reporting good use and no increase in litter. Similarly, the Lerchenfelder Straße installed twelve artistically designed “deposit waiters” which have seen positive results with only one figure stolen and no other trash deposited inside. However, the Vienna MA 48, the city’s waste management department, continues to reject proposals for wider implementation, citing concerns about littering based on past pilot projects.
