Press Release 5th May 2025

“Your deposit for the land”: BILLA enables bottle deposit donations for nature conservation in Austria

With the new donation initiative “Your deposit for the land”, BILLA offers its customers in around 900 BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores the opportunity to donate their bottle deposits directly to nature conservation at the bottle return machines. By the end of May, the initiative will be rolled out to all BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores with bottle return in Austria. The donation process is simple: after returning the containers, the donation option can be selected at the machine and confirmed with a button press. Customers receive a donation receipt as proof. The donated amounts will flow 100 percent into nature conservation projects of the non-profit BILLA Foundation “Blühendes Österreich” – for example for the renaturation of wetlands, the re-grazing of dry grasslands, or the promotion of ecological agriculture.

Two men in suits stand next to a recycling machine, holding a sign for "Billa Blühendes Österreich" and a plush toy. A banner with butterfly illustrations is displayed on the right.

From left to right: Robert Nagele (BILLA board member) and Gábor Wichmann (Managing Director of BirdLife Austria) are pleased about the new donation initiative “Your Deposit for the Land.” / Copyright: © BILLA AG / David Bohmann, Reproduction for PR purposes free of charge

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At a glance

At BILLA and BILLA PLUS, customers can now donate their bottle deposit to “Blühendes Österreich” – and do something good for the environment
The nature conservation projects of the BILLA Foundation, including renaturation, re-grazing, and the promotion of ecological agriculture, will be supported by the donations
10 years of “Blühendes Österreich”: BILLA and the bird conservation organization BirdLife Austria make a tangible contribution to nature conservation in Austria

Robert Nagele, BILLA Board Member: “The environment concerns us all, and it is essential to stand up for it, especially in times of climate crisis. For ten years, we at BILLA have made an important contribution to nature conservation through the non-profit foundation ‘Blühendes Österreich’. On the occasion of this year’s anniversary, we are very pleased to introduce the donation initiative ‘Your Deposit for the Land’. This provides customers at each of our locations with a particularly accessible way to support the environment when returning their deposits.”

Partnership for nature: BILLA and BirdLife Austria

The new donation option is part of BILLA's commitment to sustainability. In 2015, BILLA, together with the bird conservation organization BirdLife Austria, founded the non-profit foundation “Blühendes Österreich” with the goal of making a real and measurable contribution to nature conservation in Austria. To date, BILLA has allocated a total of 9.1 million euros for nature conservation, with an additional 2.5 million euros pledged in March 2025 for the period 2026–2028.

Gábor Wichmann, Managing Director of BirdLife Austria: “As co-founders of ‘Blühendes Österreich’, we have been advocating for nature conservation for ten years and have been able to provide important support to more than 300 project partners. We are convinced that customers at BILLA and BILLA PLUS will make a great contribution to local environmental protection with the donation initiative ‘Your Deposit for the Land’ – and we thank everyone in advance for every donation.”

10 years of “Blühendes Österreich”

Since its founding, “Blühendes Österreich” has supported 300 project partners, renaturing and improving over 1,300 hectares of ecologically valuable biotopes. Over the years, “Blühendes Österreich” has financed projects in 60 protected areas in Austria, including biosphere parks, European protection areas, national parks, nature parks, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A dedicated nature conservation program named FLORA is running for fruit and vegetable producers in Burgenland and Styria, contributing to the preservation and improvement of 100 hectares of ecologically valuable areas. In 2022, the European Union awarded “Blühendes Österreich” the prestigious NATURA 2000 Award. The volunteer board consists of representatives from BirdLife Austria, experts from the fields of nature conservation, agriculture, and science, as well as representatives from BILLA.

All successes and highlights from 10 years of commitment to nature and biodiversity are summarized here: www.bluehendesoesterreich.at/10Jahre.