Press Release 17th December 2024

BILLA and PENNY offer themselves as alternative single-use deposit return points for small businesses

The new deposit system for disposable plastic and metal drinks containers will be introduced at the beginning of the year. In principle, every sales outlet that hands out single-use containers with a deposit to its customers is also obliged to take them back and pay out the deposit. This poses a particular challenge for smaller businesses such as tobacconists and sausage stands as well as vending machine operators. BILLA and PENNY would like to support them by offering smaller points of sale the opportunity to refer to BILLA and PENNY stores in the immediate vicinity as alternative return points free of charge from 1 January 2025. BILLA and PENNY are the first food retailers in Austria to offer this service.

Three people stand outside a building, with one holding a sign about returning deposits featuring green bottles. Another person holds a "PENNY" sign. It's a clear day with fallen leaves on the ground.

(from left to right): Hamed Mohseni (BILLA Sales Director), René Kachlir (Chairman of the Association of Sausage Stands and operator of the ‘Zum scharfen René’ stand in Vienna) and Nada Tosic (PENNY employee) are delighted about the new cooperation between BILLA and PENNY for the collection of deposits from small businesses. / Copyright: © REWE Group / Robert Harson, Reproduction for PR purposes free of charge

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At a glance

BILLA and PENNY offer alternative return points for sold single-use deposit containers at smaller sales outlets like sausage stands and newsagents
This service is provided free of charge to entrepreneurs in all BILLA and BILLA PLUS markets as well as PENNY stores across Austria
BILLA and PENNY are the first grocery retailers nationwide to provide this low-threshold support offering

Harald Mießner, BILLA Board Member: “The new deposit system affects all of us and poses challenges not only for large companies in the food trade but also for countless smaller sales outlets. Newsagents and sausage stands currently see their existence threatened. In many cases, their small sales locations simply do not have space for the storage of bottles or cans. We do not want to just stand by but rather offer solutions in the spirit of social cooperation. Starting January 1, 2025, BILLA will gladly act as an alternative return point without any additional costs for the operators.”

Kai Pataky, Managing Director of PENNY: “For smaller business operators, it will be very difficult to manage the return of deposit containers. Here at PENNY, we are happy to help because we have the necessary return machines and storage capacities, especially with a dense branch network in Eastern Austria.”

The process is free of charge and kept as simple as possible: the return agreement can be signed directly in the nearby BILLA or PENNY store. Additionally, BILLA and PENNY offer information posters that can be displayed in the business premises, showing the address of the nearby market.

René Kachlir, Chairman of the Association of Sausage Stands and operator of the stand "Zum scharfen René" in Vienna: “For months, we have been fighting for an exemption for small businesses like sausage stands, as the deposit obligation is existentially threatening for many. As the chairman of the Association of Vienna's Sausage Stands, and with my long-standing connections to BILLA, I was able to ensure that affected businesses receive the necessary support with the deposit returns. I think it's fantastic that BILLA and PENNY are lending us a helping hand, providing support that makes the deposit returns easier and gives us legal security.”

Wolfgang Streißnig, Federal Chairman of the Tobacco Retailers in the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, also expressed his pleasure: “Newsagents are typically small businesses with limited space availability. Furthermore, newsagents are often individuals with disabilities, for whom the added burden of returning deposit containers – particularly when handling cans and bottles – would present a significant challenge. It is highly commendable that BILLA and PENNY are the first grocery retailers to reach out to Austria's newsagents. It shows that problems can be solved collaboratively and that BILLA and PENNY are taking responsibility for inclusion, thereby strengthening the largest social enterprise network in Austria with newsagents.”