Vetropack Austria GmbH reports payments of arrears on canal dues

27.03.2020: Kremsmünster, Austria, and Bülach, Switzerland, 27 March 2020 – Vetropack Austria GmbH anticipates a payment of arrears on canal dues to the municipality of Kremsmünster in the amount of approx. 4 million euros. The company has found now that annual reports to the authorities regarding effluent quantities and air emission values of the Kremsmünster plant were not correct. At no time has there been any danger to health and environment.

In the course of an internal inspection process, the management of Vetropack Austria GmbH has found that incorrect values regarding the quantity of industrial effluents and the air emissions of the Kremsmünster plant were transmitted to the competent authorities in the years 2010 to 2019. In those years, the annual reports to the competent authorities were falsified, some of them considerably so. The municipality of Kremsmünster, Upper Austria, as the competent fiscal authority for canal dues, and the district governor’s office (Bezirkshauptmannschaft) of Kirchdorf, Upper Austria, were informed accordingly today. 

All threshold values were observed

The comprehensive documents and expert reports (DI Roland Hohenauer, Büro Dr. Lengyel ZT Ltd, and DI Reinhard Ellinger, Laboratorium für Umweltanalytik Ltd) that were handed over to the municipality of Kremsmünster and to the district governor’s office of Kirchdorf today demonstrate that all applicable threshold values for both substances contained in effluents and air emissions were observed, and for the major part even clearly undercut, in the years 2010 to 2019.  

Internal investigations are still underway

How and why the transmission of incorrect values has come about is not clear yet. The internal investigations in that respect are still underway. It is certain, however, that the management was not aware of the transmission of incorrect values and has taken all necessary steps to remedy these shortcomings immediately after being informed about the situation. 

Vetropack Austria GmbH deeply regrets that incorrect values were reported to the authorities and is now working at full speed to establish compliance with official notifications.