The circular economy of packaging waste in Austria: An evaluation based on statistical entropy and material flow analysis

Transitioning to a circular economy needs robust data, feasible indicators, and practicable evaluation methods. This paper analyses Austria's 2020 packaging waste flows, assesses capture, recycling, incineration, and landfilling, and tests statistical entropy analysis (SEA) as an alternative evaluation tool. Results indicate that Austria will attain EU recycling targets for total packaging (68 %), aluminium (61 %), ferrous metals (96 %), glass (82 %) and paper (80 %); plastics (25 %) and aluminium oxidation present substantial challenges. SEA effectively highlights the material concentration of aluminium, ferrous metals and glass in recycling streams but reveals that Austria's waste management system disperses plastics and paper due to incineration. Further research should improve analyses of combustibles and integrations of energy recovery and material substitution. The study highlights that recycling alone is inadequate for achieving a circular economy. Essential components include design for recycling, reuse, and reduction. Although difficult to quantify and frequently overlooked, they are vital for sustainable resource management.