Harald Mießner, BILLA Management Board member: ‘The new deposit system affects us all and poses challenges not only for large companies in the food retail sector, but also for countless smaller outlets. Tobacconists and sausage stands are currently seeing their livelihoods jeopardised. In many places, there is no space to store bottles or cans in their small outlets. We don't just want to stand by and watch, but offer solutions in the spirit of social co-operation. BILLA will be happy to provide an alternative return point from 1 January 2025. There are no additional costs for operators.’
Kai Pataky, Managing Director of PENNY: ‘Taking back deposit containers will be almost impossible, especially for smaller businesses. We at PENNY are happy to help out here, as we have the appropriate reverse vending machines and storage capacity and have a dense network of stores, particularly in eastern Austria.’
The process is free of charge and kept as simple as possible: the take-back agreement can be signed directly in the nearby BILLA or PENNY shop, and BILLA and PENNY also offer information posters that can be displayed in the shop and where the address of the nearby store can be seen.
René Kachlir, Chairman of the Sausage Stand Association and operator of the ‘Zum scharfen René’ stand in Vienna: ‘We have been fighting for months for an exemption for small businesses such as sausage stands, because for many the deposit obligation is a threat to their existence. As chairman of the Association of Viennese Sausage Stands and thanks to my long-standing contacts with BILLA, I was able to ensure that affected businesses receive the necessary support in taking back deposits. I think it's great that BILLA and PENNY are helping us and offering support that makes it easier for us to take back deposits and at the same time gives us legal certainty.’
Wolfgang Streißnig, Federal Chairman of Tobacconists in the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, is also delighted: ‘Tobacconists are usually small businesses with limited space. What's more, tobacconists are often people with disabilities, for whom the additional burden of taking back deposit containers - especially when handling cans and bottles - would represent a considerable challenge. The fact that BILLA and PENNY are the first food retailers to take a step towards Austria's tobacconists is extremely welcome. It not only shows that problems can be solved together, but also that BILLA and PENNY are taking responsibility for inclusion and thus strengthening Austria's largest social business network with tobacconists.’
