Austria: PPWR Packaging EPR and Deposit Return

How Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) applies in Austria: the national extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme, small-producer thresholds, eco-modulation, and deposit return system status. PPWR is directly applicable in Austria from August 12, 2026.

EPR scheme

ARA (Altstoff Recycling Austria), primary PRO. Multiple licensed systems available. Register via ara.at. Separate statutory SUP surcharges on single-use plastic packaging for on-the-go consumption are not ARA license fees; the 2026 surcharges were set aside by the Lower Austria Regional Administrative Court on May 11, 2026 [LOCKED, ARA notice read September 30, 2026].

Small-producer threshold

Kleinstzeichner flat rate: ~€150/year for producers below defined weight thresholds per material. Confirm exact 2026 thresholds with ARA.

Eco-modulation

No eco-modulation in force. ARA charges one rate per material with no recyclability split and no recycled-content adjustment: its List of Tariff Rates 2027, version of September 28, 2026, carries identical figures in the January 1, 2026 and January 1, 2027 columns, and neither the ARA licensing pages nor its tariff pages publish any modulation schedule [LOCKED, ARA List of Tariff Rates 2027 and the ARA licensing and tariff pages read October 6, 2026]. Correction, October 7, 2026: this row previously said ARA applied its own PPWR-aligned eco-modulation with recyclability and recycled-content fee adjustments from 2026. The tariff sheet does not support that and the Austrian source note on the fee table already said the opposite. aligning with ACT-02 once adopted. Harmonized PPWR eco-modulation does not bind until around mid-2031 (Art. 6(8)).

Deposit return system

Watch points

STRICTEST AR requirement in EU: zero de minimis. All non-resident producers must appoint an Austrian AR regardless of volume. Environmental Omnibus AR suspension (until Jan 1, 2035) NOT yet formally adopted, full AR requirement applies.

Indicative EPR fees (ARA 2027)

All 27 member states