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Austria ranks as one of the global recycling champions: already in 2018, 58% of all municipal waste in the country was recycled. Add to this a string of waste prevention regulations introduced as early as the 2000s, and an image of a circularity champion starts to emerge. It is no coincidence that in 2019, Austria became the first country in the world to commission a Circularity Gap Report, measuring the circularity rate of a nation.
However, the report’s findings were somewhat disappointing: Austria’s economy was only 9.7% circular, just slightly above the global average at the time. This highlighted an important fact: recycling rates do not equal circularity. On the contrary, high recycling rates can conceal structural problems that hinder a truly circular economy, such as continued reliance on fossil fuels, rising resource use, and a high dependence on imports.
According to Christoph Scharff, CEO of AltstoffRecycling Austria (ARA) at the time of the CGR Austria publication, the report was crucial in shifting the focus from recycling rates to the circularity rate—the share of secondary materials used as inputs to the economy. This distinction matters because recycling materials after use does not necessarily mean they are reintroduced into the economy in a way that reduces the consumption of virgin materials.
“While Austria remains among the EU’s leading countries in municipal waste recycling and enjoys a strong reputation for separate waste collection, the Circularity Gap Report highlighted the broader systemic interconnections. It underscored the necessity of a more comprehensive and integrated approach to circularity—one that goes beyond waste management to address key materials, products and waste streams across the entire economy, far beyond the consumer's perspective”, says Christoph Scharff.
The CGR Austria laid the groundwork for Austria’s first National Circular Economy Strategy. Adopted in 2022, it set an ambitious goal of an 18% circular economy by 2030.
“In the short term, the project [CGR Austria] provided policymakers with solid, evidence-based arguments. Over time, its methodological approach has become established. Today, we have a definded standard at the EU level and it forms an integral part of the Austrian federal government’s circular economy and industry strategies”, Christoph Scharffadds.
Three years on, Austria’s transition to a circular economy is increasingly visible in everyday life, business practices and infrastructure. While the most significant material flows are undoubtedly managed in the construction and infrastructure sectors, measures at the consumer level also contribute to raising awareness for reuse and circularity.
In 2022, the Austrian government introduced vouchers for repair services for household appliances and electronics. Since then, more than one million vouchers have been redeemed. With over 3,900 partner companies involved and a total budget of €130 million by 2026, the programme has strengthened local repairers, reduced household waste, and made repair trendy. Additionally, repair services are now subject to a reduced VAT rate of 10%.
Packaging systems are another area of tangible impact. Since the 1990s, Austria has developed one of the most convenient collection systems for packaging from households, businesses and industry. Domestic companies are among the technology leaders in plastics recycling. In view of the objectives of the EU Single Use Plastics Directive, a deposit system for beverage packaging was introduced in 2025.
Targeted funding has helped translate circular principles into concrete projects. In 2024 alone, 41 million euros were allocated to circular design, textile reuse and recycling infrastructure, while the RTI Initiative Circular Economy has already funded 48 innovation projects along the entire value chain.
These are just a few examples of Austria’s evolving approaches to circularity, which are now centred on reducing resource use rather than merely recycling. Since 2019, ten nations have followed Austria in measuring their circularity with a Circularity Gap Report, helping to establish a global benchmark for the circular transition.
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