The%20Swiss%20Army%20Knife

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Zeroing In On Waste

• The Swiss Army Knife
• for Waste Management

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Agenda

• Context of waste management in Switzerland
• Principles
• Legislation
• Tools for managing waste
• non-economic
• economic
• Results
• Conclusions

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Priciples of Waste Management in Switzerland

• Environment

• Limit environmental pollution due to waste

• Incineration plants - fluegas
  scrubbers - flyash and slag treatment

• Landfills - strict regulation on construction
  of landfills - restriction of waste to be
  deposited (organic content etc.)
  - rehabilitation of old landfills

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Priciples of Waste Management in Switzerland

• Closed Material Cycles

• Recover materials, if the impact is smaller than
  elimination and production of new material

• Technologies must be technically feasible and
  economically justifiable

• Separated collection of waste

• Public - Private Partnerships

• Resonsability of the private sector for
  recovering or elimina-tion of their products (EPR)

• Agreements and sectoral solutions instead of
  state regula-tions, if the goal can be reached

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Legal Context for Waste Management in Switzerland

• Mission Statement for Waste Management in
  Switzerland (1986)

• Disposal fee has to include the whole disposal
  chain until reuse or final disposal

• Disposal fees should be included in retail prices

• No subventions for waste treatment facilities
  (private or public)

• Environmental Protection Law

• Polluter - pays principle

• 3RV-E

• Encouragement of public - private partnerships

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Legal Context for Waste Management (cont.)

• Technical Ordinance on Waste

• Obligation for Separate Collection of Waste

• Ban for landfilling wastes with organic carbon
  content gt 5

• Obligation for Thermal Treatment of Residual Waste

• Obligation to draw up Waste Managemenet Plans

• Technical Specifications for Waste Treatment
  Plants

• Ordinance on Beverage Container

• Mandatory deposit for reusable packaging in
  glass, PET etc.
• Mandatory deposit for disposable packaging in PVC
• Mandatory prepaid disposal fee for glass
  containers

• Obligation for seller of packaging in metal or
  PET to take all similar packaging back free of
  charge

• Minimal recovery rate of 75 for containers in
  glass, alu and PET

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Legal Context for Waste Management (cont.)

• Ordinance on the Return, the Taking back and the
  Disposal of Electrical and Electronic Appliances

• Obligation for customers to return used
  appliances to point of sale

• Obligation for sellers to take back all
  appliances similar to those that are sold at this
  point of sale

• Specification of standards for recovery and
  disposal technologies

• Obligation for autorisation of recovery and
  disposal facilities

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Non Economic Tools for Waste Management

• Information Campains

• Action Plans

• Separate Collection of Wastes

• Curbside collection of recyclable materials-
  Organic waste- Paper cardboard

• Collection of recyclable materials at points of
  sale- Electronic and electric appliances- PET
  beverage containers

• Unattended collecting points- Glass
  containers- Used Oils (mineral vegetable)

• Eco-Centers- Hazardous waste- Metals

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Economic Tools for Waste Management

• Prepaid Disposal Fee

• Prepaid Recycling Fee

• Deposit

• Polluter - Pays Principle (Pay-as-you-throw)

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Mandatory Instruments in Switzerland

• Mandatory deposit (min. 30 cts.) for

• all reusable packaging for beverages (Glass,
  PET etc.)

• disposable packaging for beverages in PVC

• Mandatory prepaid disposal fee for

• Glass bottles2 - 6 cts. per bottle, depending on
  the size of the bottle, included in the retail
  price

• Batteries and accumulators3.20 per kg, included
  in the retail price

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Financing System of Battery Recycling in
Switzerland
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Voluntary Instruments in Switzerland

• Voluntary Prepaid Recycling Fee for

• Aluminium Beverage Cans3 cts. per can paid by
  fillers and importers/manufacturers of cans

• PET Beverage Containers4 cts. per container sold
  by members of PRS (PET Recycling Switzerland)

• Electric and Electronic Appliancesaccording to
  type of appliance 1 Hairdryer, 40 Fridge

• Tin Cans1 ct. per can paid by fillers and
  importers/manufacturers of cans

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Pay-as-you-throw enhances Separation of Waste
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Pay-as-you-throw enhances Separation of Waste
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Waste Generation is strongly dependent on
Taxation Systems
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Financial Incentives cannot cause Miracles but
.....

• are a strong instrument to support diversion of
  waste

• push customers and producers alike to take
  responsibility for their behaviour

• help municipalities to reduce costs for waste
  management

• Introduction should not increase the tax burden

• they may have a negative impact on the quality of
  separate collected waste

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GDP and Waste Generation in Switzerland
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Economic Tools a MUST for a succesful Waste
Management Strategy

• Tailored to meet the needs of a specific
  country/region

• Including financial incentives

• Combination of voluntary and mandatory
  instruments

• Public-Private Partnerships

• Easy to use

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Questions ?
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Polluter - Pays Principle (Pay-as-you-throw)

• History

• Introduced by the first swiss municipalities in
  the 80 (residential ICI)

• Introduced for the first time by all
  municipalities of a Canton in 1990

• Taxation by volume or weight ist now very common
  for more than 75 of the population of Switzerland

• Results

• Polluter-pays principle is widly accepted in
  Switzerland (gt80)

• Taxation by volume/weight sensitises and
  motivates people

• Polluter-pays principle enhances waste separation

• Leads to a significant decrease in waste from
  housholds to incinerate

• Separate collection systems have to be optimised
  (organic waste, paper cardboard, glass)

• Littering is a problem with or without taxation
  of waste, but taxation tends to increase littering