Avoiding plastic waste - our tips for you!

A study prepared by the Environment Agency Austria in 2017 on the generation and treatment of plastic waste in Austria shows that around 920.000 tonnes of plastic waste are generated annually throughout Austria. Only 28 percent of plastic waste is recycled, 71 percent of plastic waste is sent for thermal utilization and 1 percent is landfilled. Reason enough to think about the use of mainly short-lived plastic products and to consider alternatives. Let us inspire you how Ecolabel licensees and partners reduce plastic waste:

Tip 1: Buy mineral water and beer in returnable bottles: Reusable is added value!

A good alternative to disposable plastic cups and bottles is to use reusable containers - either made of glass or durable plastic. These must be refilled at least 12 times to be certified with the Austrian Ecolabel.Reusable glass bottles with the eco-label can be found in the shops of Coca Cola HBC Austria and Vöslauer Mineralwasser and the Brauerei Murau.Pupils of the Agricultural Professional School Sooß used an oversized shopping trolley and filled ones to illustrate how many empty plastic bottles are produced in a 4-person household per week when two litres of drinks are consumed per person: 56 litres!

Tip 2: Returnable cups are worth more!

Cup Solution Mehrwert GmbH confirms that returnable cups can withstand up to 600 rinsing cycles when professionally cleaned and handled properly. 100,000 used reusable cups thus save almost 900 kg of waste, which would be generated by disposable cups. Enjoy your coffee to go in the environmentally friendly reusable cup!

Tip 3: Cosmetics without microplastics

A positive example is the Styrian company Ringana, which markets cosmetics without microplastics and whose soap has also been awarded the Austrian Ecolabel. The soap uses biodegradable ingredients such as milled nut or coconut shells. After all, the amount of micro-plastics used in shower gels and peelings exceeds 4,000 tons per year (Mikroplastik in der Umwelt, Umweltbundesamt, p.13ff). In the "Zero Waste Lifestyle" project, pupils at the Fohnsdorf Federal Schools produce various care and cosmetic products from natural products with recyclable packaging material.

Tip 4: Less plastic in the office

The initiative Clever Einkaufen im Büro- und Schulbereich (www.schuleinkauf.at) focuses on long-life cycle and refillability. There are practical refill systems for ballpoint pens, gel pens, highlighters, flipchart and whiteboard markers. If all employees in Austria use refillable ballpoint pens three times, around 80 tonnes of plastic cases will be saved (AK brochure Office and Environment, p. 57).
WienIT will no longer collect residual waste at every workplace in the future, but in large-capacity collectors, thus saving around 42,000 waste bags (equivalent to ~ 80% savings).

Tip 5: Beeswax cloths instead of snack bags!

Instead of the many plastic snack bags (or the famous aluminium foil) which are usually only used once, ready-made beeswax cloths are a pleasant ecological alternative. Creative people, such as the employees of AUSTROPA INTERCONVENTION Verkehrsbüro Business Travel GmbH, also make their own beeswax cloths.

Tip 6: Lunch break without plastic waste!

In the kitchen of the Forum Umweltbildung there are glass boxes to borrow for those employees who want to get something to eat during their lunch break - take away without rubbish made easy!

Tip 7: Avoiding plastic in washing and cleaning agents

Detergents and cleaning agents are used daily in households or in industry and commerce. Per inhabitant 2.5 litres of household detergent are consumed annually. This amounts to 20,000 tons per year in Austria. The fact that detergents and cleaning agents can be more environmentally friendly is demonstrated by the ecological cleaners bearing the Austrian Ecolabel. They use less packaging material and the packaging is designed for easy recycling. In order to inform consumers about detergents and cleaning agents, a social media campaign is currently running under the motto "Green & Clean".

Tip 8: Congresses and events - plastic-free!?

As a licensee of the Austrian Ecolabel, Mondial certifies congresses and events as Green Meetings. They also take care to avoid plastic waste. Read here some tips on how to reduce or even completely avoid plastic at congresses - where there`s a will, there`s a way!