Vienna’s tobacconists are raising concerns about a new deposit return system on aluminium cans, plastic and glass containers, ORF has reported.

Starting in January 2025, people in Austria will pay a 25-cent deposit (Pfand) per container at purchase, which will be refunded upon return. All shops selling beverages, including tobacconists (Tabak Trafik), will be required to accept these returns.

However, the Social Democratic Business Association of Vienna (SWV Vienna) highlighted in an inspection in the 19th district that beverages are a minor product in tobacconist shops, with only a small number of cans or bottles being sold and returned daily.

Adding to the challenge, tobacconist shops would need to store returns in 300-litre bags, which are only collected once full. This could mean bags – sometimes containing less-than-clean items – may remain in limited storage areas for extended periods.

The SWV has proposed that businesses smaller than 25 square metres be exempt from the regulation. SWV President Marko Fischer argued, “The new regulations are nothing more than an attack on small business owners who work hard every day to make ends meet.”

Tobacconists’ concerns follow similar complaints from sausage stand operators, who also cite a lack of storage space for containers.

“Most sausage stand operators don’t have storage; they only have the sales area, and it’s quite difficult to manage,” said Rene Kachlir from the Association of Vienna Sausage Stands. At these stands, bags of bottles and cans will only be collected once at least three bags are filled.