The Austrian politician Stefan Kaineder

For the first time we received an Austrian politician in our kayaks. Stefan Kaineder, the Minister for Environment and Climate from Upper Austria, had meetings in Brussels about the European Green Deal initiatives 🌍🇪🇺 and decided to pay us a visit.

We discussed the challenges the waterways in Brussels are facing and what the situation is in Upper Austria. The delegation was surprised about the number of sewage overflows taking place in Brussels and they were certain they don’t have the same problem at home.

Good news for them, the deposit system on cans and plastic bottles will be introduced in Austria from 1 January 2025 with a deposit of 25 cents. In Austria they didn’t have the same problem as in Belgium where the industry is still fiercely fighting the introduction of the system with alternative propositions.