
Our
company

THIS IS WHO WE ARE
Saubermacher was founded by Hans and Margret Roth in 1979 with the aim of contributing every single day to an environment worth living in. Even today, the Roth family is the main owner of the company. Saubermacher has already received several international awards for its commitment to sustainability. Our vision is Zero Waste. We are highly committed to R&D, digital innovations and partnerships. We support residents, local authorities and companies with environmental protection, sustainable enterprise and needs-based solutions.

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Mission Statement
Taking responsibility
For the people.
We consider our priority to be to generate value for customers and society. To reach this aim, we meet the requirements of our customers with utmost flexibility. And guarantee innovative, tailor-made solutions for the worlds of today and tomorrow. We are a dependable and fair employer and value the individuality of our employees while promoting personal and professional development. We offer a range of enrichment opportunities.
For the environment.
We are aware of the consequences of our business on people and nature, so we strive to recycle as many raw materials as possible and operate in a way that conserves resources for future generations. Transparency and care are our constant guiding principles in all processing and recycling operations. We promote public awareness of ecological issues with ongoing climate protection measures.
For the company.
We take economic principles seriously and act reasonably, following effective and efficient processes throughout the added value chain. We act with clear goals and develop perspectives for successful future development. Constant improvement and the use of state-of-the art technologies help to ensure our competitiveness and company value.


Shaping the future
For society, municipalities and ecology.
We consider it our social obligation to help shape the waste and recycling industry in Austria and other countries in central and south-eastern Europe. As a forerunner in the industry, our knowledge makes a valuable contribution to further development and environmental standards. We are an active partner in all areas of waste management for lawmakers, for research and development facilities and for the state sector and are always prepared to share our knowledge. Our input and ideas have become an important contribution to an environment worth living in.

The Saubermacher Board



Our story
It all began back in 1979 with Hans and Margret Roth, their courage to take risks and their vision of an environment worth living in. It was a time when still very few had recognised the potential of intelligent waste management. The company’s evolution from a small regional service provider to an international, multi award winning recycling and disposal specialist is nothing short of impressive. Despite the company’s development, one thing has never changed – people and the environment were and still are at the heart of everything.
Roth-Umweltschutz is founded with five employees in the eastern Styrian city of Gnas.
Waste paper disposal starts in 107 municipalities in Styria.
First mobile hazardous waste collection.
First petrol station waste disposal in Styria.
First mobile sewage sludge treatment plant.
First hospital waste disposal in Styria.
The three-container system is introduced in Austria – separation into glass, paper and residual waste.
First sewer flushing and suction tanker in Austria.
First fluorescent light bulb recycling in Austria.
First refrigerator disposal in Austria.
The ‘Bodenschatz’ (natural resource) brand is introduced for natural compost.
Saubermacher Slovenia is founded.
First environmental forum – a meeting point for initiatives, authorities, the media and interested citizens.
PPP Hartberger Saubermacher is founded.
First kitchen waste disposal system in Austria – ‘Bio Refood’.
Margret Roth – female environmental personality of the year.
First Austrian waste management company with ISO 9002 quality certificate.
Co-operation with Styrian government and industrial partners to collect waste electrical and electronic equipment.
Saubermacher presents the first electric vehicle and the first Saubermacher tram in Graz.
PPP Mürztaler Saubermacher is founded.
Beginning of partnership with the municipality of Mödling.
PPP Villacher Saubermacher is founded.
First disposal operation on Mount Everest with extreme sportsman Wolfgang Fasching.
Hans Roth is entrepreneur of the year.
Saubermacher wins the environmental protection prize for Styria.
The high-tech alternative fuel processing plant ThermoTeam is opened.
Splitting plant in Vienna begins operation.
Takeover of the international firm Rumpold with more than 1000 employees.
The clug laboratory is founded, a specialist in environmental analysis.
State award – Saubermacher is awarded the federal crest.
Saubermacher wins the PPP tender for ‘Kernraumallianz Voitsberg’.
Reopening of a high-tech sorting plant in Graz.
Saubermacher wins the TRIGOS 2008 award in the ‘Community’ category.
Austrian president Dr. Heinz Fischer recognises Hans Roth as Austrian of the Year.
Saubermacher wins the TRIGOS 2009 award in the ‘Ecology’ category.
20th anniversary of Saubermacher Slovenia.
ECOPORT headquarters opened in Feldkirchen bei Graz.
Saubermacher wins the Austrian state prize for environmental and energy technology.
Saubermacher opens its in-house research facility in Graz.
Saubermacher begins a joint venture in Abu Dhabi.
Start of the PPP Stockerauer Saubermacher.
Presentation of the new ‘Daheim’ service app.
Saubermacher acquires 55% of the company shares in the German battery recycler REDUX.
The first waste water-free treatment plant in Europe for industrial waste water.
The online shop www.wastebox.at is opened.
Saubermacher acquires 100% of the German battery recycler REDUX and opens a REDUX site in Offenbach.
Saubermacher opens a waste electrical and electronic treatment plant in St. Michael for the recovery of secondary raw materials from waste electrical and electronic equipment.
The new wastebox.biz app, developed by Saubermacher in just nine months, revolutionises construction site disposal.
Saubermacher opens a high-tech recycling centre for hazardous waste in Slovenia.
Saubermacher wins the TRIGOS Styria 2017 prize for its integrated CSR engagement in the ‘Large company’ category.
Saubermacher is awarded the Energy Globe STYRIA AWARD for its battery system reuse and recycling projects.
Saubermacher and Austria’s most famous extreme mountain climber Hans Wenzl embark upon a successful environmental expedition on Mount Everest.
Saubermacher uses the Waste Management Day to inject dynamism into the waste and recycling economy.
Saubermacher achieves first place in Europe and third place worldwide in the GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark).
Saubermacher commissions its state-of-the-art storage and handling centre for hazardous waste in Vienna.
A fifteen-year success story: With ThermoTeam, Saubermacher and Lafarge have produced around one million tonnes of alternative fuel since 2003.
The Daheim service app is relaunched. Together, Saubermacher and Energie Steiermark give communities and citizens a wider range of ‘smart’ benefits.
Saubermacher’s online platform for construction site disposal, wastebox.biz, starts an international programme of expansion, beginning in Germany in conjunction with Veolia.
Opening of a high-tech recycling plant for lithium-ion batteries in Bremerhaven, Germany.
Interseroh and Saubermacher establish the SIMPLi RETURN joint venture and therefore the first global recycling system for lithium-ion batteries.
Saubermacher invests around two million Euros in the upgrade of the sorting plant for plastic packaging in Graz and increases material recycling rates to 40%.
Energie Steiermark and Saubermacher present their new ‘Smart Village’ digital project.
Saubermacher opens the new treatment plant for waste water from industry and business at its Trofaiach site.
Saubermacher presents its state-of-the-art recycling plant for refrigeration appliances in Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic.
GRESB declares Saubermacher the most sustainable recycling firm in the world.
EU environment ministers seek advice from Saubermacher on innovative treatment methods and digital recycling solutions.
Saubermacher invests around three million Euros in alternative fuel systems for its subsidiary ThermoTeam, thereby setting a new recycling standard.
Wastebox.biz is live in France.
Together with Federal Minister Elisabeth Köstinger, Saubermacher invites to an environmental dialogue in Feldkirchen near Graz.
Saubermacher supports the project “Blühende und summende Wiesen” to promote the habitat of native insects.
Saubermacher receives the award TRIGOS in the category climate protection.
The joint project with Energie Steiermark “Smart Village” is showing its first major successes.
Once again GRESB declares Saubermacher the most sustainable recycling firm in the world.
Saubermacher celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Saubermacher receives the award as the most family-friendly company in Styria.
PPP Schilcherland Saubermacher is founded
Acquisition of Wastebox Deutschland GmbH.
Saubermacher relies on digital disposal using the high-tech ANDI sensor.
Saubermacher and Minister Leonore Gewessler honour the ‘hero of climate protection’ for the first time
Smart Waste in Lower Austria: Horn and Tulln are capitalising on innovative glass and household waste disposal technologies.
Saubermacher has been named the world´s most sustainable disposal company in the GRESB rating for the fourth time in a row and has also been awarded a 5-star ranking for its sustainability operations.
Since 1 July, the Pinzgau waste disposal company Gassner has been 100% part of the Saubermacher family.
New Saubermacher Battery Services GmbH completes the circular economy for e-mobility.
The SecondLife – Batteries4Storage project was successfully completed with the installation of the stationary storage unit made from old electric car batteries at ECOPORT.
First electric HGV in use at Saubermacher for the disposal of lightweight packaging.
Saubermacher is placing the expansion of its self-developed recycling process for lithium-ion batteries in the hands of Redwood Materials Inc.
Porr, Saint-Gobain & Saubermacher launch Austria’s first gypsum-to-gypsum recycling plant.