Three Austrian waste management companies have been fined a total of €7 million for participating in a cartel that lasted nearly two decades and involved widespread price fixing, market sharing, and bid rigging.
The penalty was imposed by the Cartel Court at the request of the Austrian Federal Competition Authority (AFCA). The sanctioned firms—Saubermacher Dienstleistungs AG, Trügler Recycling & Transport GesmbH, and pink robin gmbh—operated under the collective label “SDAG” during proceedings. The court’s decision is final.
Coordinated Collusion Across Austria
Between 2002 and 2021, the companies coordinated prices, divided customers and territories, and exchanged confidential business information. This anti-competitive behavior affected both public and private tenders for waste management services across Austria.
According to the AFCA, the cartel allowed participating firms to avoid genuine competition, share markets and clients, and support each other in securing contracts—practices that ultimately harmed municipalities, taxpayers, and other customers.
Leniency and Cooperation
Following extensive dawn raids in 2021 and 2022, SDAG admitted its role and cooperated with investigators. As a result, the AFCA applied for a reduced fine under Austria’s leniency programme, which offers companies lower penalties—or even full immunity—if they help uncover and dismantle cartels.
The waste sector probe is one of Austria’s largest competition investigations in recent years, uncovering what the AFCA describes as an interlinked network of collusion.
Additional Fines: Huber Sanctioned
In a separate but related decision, the Cartel Court also imposed a fine of €175,000 on Huber Entsorgungsgesellschaft mbH Nfg. KG and its affiliate Huber Abfallservice Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH. Huber was found to have participated in the cartel from 2003 to 2021, particularly in the Carinthia region.
Like SDAG, Huber cooperated with the AFCA and was granted leniency, leading to a significantly reduced fine.
Other Companies Under Investigation
The AFCA’s investigation is still ongoing. During the 2021 raids, authorities searched over 20 companies across Austria, seizing more than 60 terabytes of IT data and over 2,000 pages of documents. While some companies have been publicly named, many remain under investigation, with further disclosures expected.
So far, FCC Austria Abfall Service AG cooperated early in the investigation and received full immunity, meaning it did not have to pay any fine. The group of companies consisting of Saubermacher, Trügler, and pink robin also cooperated but were fined a total of €7.085 million. Meanwhile, the Huber companies cooperated as well and were fined €175,000.
A €5 Billion Industry in Focus
Austria’s waste management industry includes around 300 companies, generating more than €5 billion annually. The AFCA’s probe reveals a systemic effort by several of these firms to distort the competitive landscape, especially in contract tenders where public resources are at stake.
As the investigation continues, the AFCA has signaled that further sanctions and court decisions are likely. The case marks a significant milestone in Austrian cartel enforcement and serves as a warning to other sectors under scrutiny.
