Hard, Austria Launches Five New Deposit Stations

The market municipality of Hard in Austria has installed five new public deposit (Pfand) stations. The containers are located at the bus stop by the church, in Stedepark, on the Harder lake shore and at the Kiese playground. They allow residents to leave empty bottles and cans for collection instead of discarding them with residual waste.

The stations are part of a pilot project of the Vorarlberger Gemeindeverband aimed at preventing deposit‑eligible containers from entering the regular trash stream. Mayor Martin Staudinger said the initiative creates a "win‑win" situation: it spares people from carrying empties and provides collectors with a convenient source of income, combining environmental benefits with social support.