In a survey of 1,000 people conducted by marketagent.com on behalf of the Association of Austrian Waste Management Companies (VOEB), 85 percent said they made sure to dispose of their waste correctly. In Vorarlberg and Tyrol, the figure was 93 percent, according to a press release.
According to the survey, the older the respondents are, the more they know regarding the topic of waste separation and act accordingly. While 92 percent of baby boomers (60 to 78 years old) pay attention to the correct disposal of waste, this figure is only 74 percent for Generation Z (14 to 30 years old). Younger people are also much more likely to be unsure regarding which waste belongs in which bin: only 24 percent of those under 30 felt “very confident” regarding the topic of waste separation.
“The older you are, the more likely you are to have dealt with the issue of waste separation in your own household. Nevertheless, we need to inform young people better and encourage them to separate,” says Veronika Wüster, Managing Director of VOEB. Separate disposal of waste often fails due to a lack of knowledge or – for example in urban areas – because not all separated waste is picked up directly by the garbage collectors.
Here, the VOEB is pushing for a nationwide “4-ton system” throughout Austria, in which every household or residential building has at least four waste fractions (residual waste, paper, organic waste and a shared metal and plastic bin) and these are collected directly. “This is already being implemented in many communities, but not everywhere, especially not in urban areas,” says Wüster. In the survey, 84 percent of respondents also spoke out in favor of such a system.
