Recyclables in Switzerland: Paper, Cardboard, PET, Aluminium and Glass

Paper and cardboard are collected separately in Switzerland — a distinction that's often blurred in everyday life. The paper collection takes newspapers and magazines, letters, brochures and flyers, books without covers, and writing paper. The cardboard collection takes shipping cartons, packaging board and corrugated sheets — all flattened to save space.

Most municipalities adopt regular collection days: paper and cardboard are tied up with string (not placed in plastic bags) and set out by the roadside on collection morning. Alternatively, containers at local recycling stations accept both at any time. Pizzas boxes and baking paper that are heavily soiled with grease can't be recycled and go in the general waste; beverage cartons like Tetra Paks may follow the cardboard collection or have a separate collection at supermarkets, depending on your municipality.

PET collection is a Swiss success story: more than 80 per cent of drinks bottles are recycled, with containers in virtually every supermarket and at many collection points. The most important rule is often overlooked, however: only PET drinks bottles belong in the PET collection. Look for the embossed PET logo in a triangle on the bottom of the bottle.

Bottles for oil, vinegar, shampoo, shower gel or cleaning products are not PET drinks bottles, nor are cups, trays and film. They interfere with the closed-loop process that turns drinks bottles into new bottles. Put them in Kehricht household refuse or, where one exists, the separate plastics collection now offered by a growing number of municipalities and retailers. Rinse bottles briefly and squash them before returning them; the cap may stay on.

Aluminium is especially worthwhile: remelting it uses only five per cent of the energy required for new production. Cans, tubes, aluminium foil and trays, and coffee capsules all go in the aluminium container — with capsules best placed in the special collection bags available at supermarkets, because of coffee residue. Tinplate — tins, crowns caps and tin lids — is collected separately; containers usually stand side by side, often at the same location as the glass collection.

Waste glass is sorted by colour: white, green and brown each have their own containers, because only glass separated by colour can be melted down into new bottles. Unscrew bottle caps and closure lids before returning them — these go to tinplate or aluminium, respectively. Drinking glasses, window glass, mirrors, porcelain and ceramics do not belong in the glass container: they have different melting points and can render entire loads useless. Smaller quantities of these items go in general waste, larger ones to the local recycling station (Ökihof).

Unlike neighbouring countries, which rely on household recyclables bins, Switzerland leans heavily on the bring-your-own model: at nearly every shopping destination you'll find containers for PET, glass, aluminium and tinplate, and each municipality runs a recycling station — known locally as an Ökihof, civic works depot (Werkhof) or recycling centre (Recyclingzentrum). In addition to PET, glass, metal and tinplate, these stations also take scrap metal, electrical goods, batteries, polystyrene (styrofoam) — and often green waste and bulky items — with most recyclables collected free of charge.

That separation is free is no accident: municipalities have a direct interest in keeping valuable recyclables out of the expensive general waste sack. Green waste and paper cost only a fraction as much to recycle or compost as they do to incinerate — so in many Swiss cantons it is expressly forbidden to dispose of them in the charged waste sack. If you do put green waste into general waste, therefore, you not only pay twice (once for the sack and again in processing fees) but also break your local waste collection regulations.

Keep opening hours in mind: shop-side containers are available around the clock, but municipal recycling stations have fixed times — often just a few afternoons a week plus Saturday mornings. Oh, and don't forget: you don't actually need to take electrical goods or batteries all the way to a recycling station — every shop is legally required to accept them free of charge, even if you're not buying anything new.

Recyclables collections are free for households — funded by advance recycling fees included in the purchase price of goods and by the sale of recovered raw materials. Every PET bottle, every bundle of paper that goes into a separate collection stays out of the charged general waste sack. Those who sort consistently produce far less general waste — and at a sack price of two to three Swiss francs, the savings add up quickly.

Paper and cardboard collection days follow each municipality's calendar, and they can differ even between adjoining neighbourhoods. To make sure you're never left holding your bundled paper in front of a closed collection bin, BinMinder sends you a free reminder the evening before.