Consumption of plastics is increasing, and as a result more and more plastic waste is being created. The public authorities, together with plastics manufacturers, the waste management sector and retailers, are conducting a review of which options for recycling and disposal are ecologically and economically sound. Plastic waste recycling should deliver ecological added value and be financially viable.
Around one million tonnes of plastics are consumed in Switzerland every year – that's 120 kilograms per capita (reference year 2017). Around 790,000 tonnes of plastic waste are generated every year, almost half of which is used for less than a year, e.g. as packaging. Around 83% per cent (660,000 tonnes) of plastic waste is recovered for energy in waste incineration plants and around 2% (10,000 tonnes) in cement works. Around nine per cent (70,000 tonnes) is processed into recycled material. A further six per cent (50,000 tonnes) of plastic waste is reused, for example textiles. In contrast to many other countries, Switzerland has not used landfill sites for combustible waste since the year 2000. Therefore, all plastic waste must be recycled or recovered for energy in an environmentally sound manner. However, there is still potential for improving material cycles in plastics recycling.
Ecological assessment
Because of their versatility, plastics are used in a very wide variety of products (clothing, packaging, vehicles etc.). On the one hand, plastics are found in long-lived applications such as construction materials and vehicles. On the other, they are used for short-lived products which are disposed of immediately after a single use (e.g. takeaway packaging or plastic cutlery).
The question often arises in product manufacturing as to whether plastics or alternative materials should be used. The decision should be based on life cycle assessments (LCAs), which consider a product’s environmental impact throughout its entire lifespan. Contrary to popular perception, plastics are often efficient materials from an LCA perspective. For example, plastic envelopes for magazines tend to have a lower environmental impact than paper envelopes.
The FOEN promotes the circular economy. To enhance closing the loop on product life cycles, it is important to address disposal issues when a product is manufactured. Design for Recycling and Eco-design are just two key terms here. Waste prevention is another important topic, because the most environmentally friendly waste never arises in the first place.
Bioplastics
Most plastics are based on fossil resources such as petroleum, coal or natural gas. Bio-based plastics, in contrast, are made from renewable resources such as corn, wheat or potato starch. Biodegradable plastics can be fully degraded by natural micro-organisms and may be either petroleum-based or bio-based. The origin of the material therefore gives no indication as to the degradability of the plastic. For more information see the dossier Bioplastics – are they degradable? (available in German, French and Italian) and the Biodegradable plastics (PDF, 187 kB, 12.05.2020) factsheet.
Plastic waste: energy recovery or recycling?
The plastics recycling system includes not only the process of recycling plastics, but also the upstream stages such as the separate collection of plastic waste, its transportation, storage and handling. A viable recycling system must not only offer clear ecological benefits compared to the use of primary raw materials or energy recovery in a waste incineration plant or cement works, it must also be economically sustainable. This presupposes a market for recycled plastic that is robust enough to resist price fluctuations, and solid financing of the system.
Whether recycling of plastic waste has ecological advantages over other recovery methods depends on many different factors. According to the waste hierarchy in Article 30d of the Environmental Protection Act, plastic recycling is preferable to energy recovery, as the grey energy – the energy required to produce the plastic – is not lost. However, in individual cases the success of the system depends on the quality of the collected material (homogeneity and cleanliness), the efficiency of the collection system expanded collection points/infrastructure/logistics), the quality of the recycling process and the marketability of the recycled material. The environmental benefits of plastic recycling thus depend not only on collection quantities and rates, but also to a large extent on the quality of the collected material. All these aspects should therefore be taken into account when optimising recycling systems.
Recycling of plastic waste from trade and industry
Trade, industry and agriculture often consume large quantities of plastics, which as a rule accrue post-use in fairly large quantities, sorted and in some cases uncontaminated (e.g. pallet wrapping films). Such waste is normally well suited for recycling. However, this potential is only being partially exploited at present. For example, just under a quarter of the PE films from trade, industry and agriculture is recycled.
It is primarily the duty of the industry to optimise its waste disposal in order to enhance the closing of life cycle loops.
Recycling of plastic waste from households
Many consumers want to recycle their plastic waste and are therefore increasingly collecting their plastic waste separately. In addition to the PET beverage bottle collection, a highly successful practice introduced in the 1990s, retailers in Switzerland have introduced separate collections of plastic bottles with lids (e.g. milk and shampoo bottles). The range of mixed plastic collections from private households and small businesses is also constantly being expanded by private-sector providers.
This is reducing the environmental impact of plastic waste disposal. Improved product design and new sorting and recycling technologies are constantly helping to increase recycling rates and the quality of recycled material.
The considerable heterogeneity of plastics in mixed plastic collections and the wide variety of additives currently make recycling difficult. Not all types of plastic can be recycled, nor is there always a viable sales market. Furthermore, the collected material may contain foreign substances or be contaminated in some other way, which reduces the recyclable amounts and quality of recycled material.
The cantons are responsible for ensuring an environmentally sound disposal of municipal waste. They generally assign this task to their municipal authorities. Plastic waste from households is also subject to this monopoly on waste disposal. The separate collections of plastic waste from households by private providers therefore have to be approved of by the cantons or the municipal authorities. For this purpose, the FOEN has drafted a Model licence agreement for municipal authorities with Explanatory notes (both documents available in German, French and Italian). This model agreement can be used voluntarily by the municipalities for contracts with private service providers.
Musterkonzessionsvertrag zwischen Gemeinden und Privaten Dienstleistern (DOCX, 47 kB, 20.11.2018)(available in German, French and Italian)
Begleitblatt Musterkonzessionsvertrag zwischen Gemeinden und Privaten Dienstleistern (PDF, 149 kB, 27.11.2018)(available in German, French and Italian)
Outlook
Take-back systems and recycling technology continue to develop, meaning that greater quantities of plastic waste can be recycled. Plastic products are increasingly designed to be recyclable, and new technologies for sorting and processing plastic waste open up further opportunities. The collection infrastructure for certain plastic waste is also constantly expanding; for example, in many regions of Switzerland plastic packaging can be separated from household waste for recycling, and the possibilities for collecting and recycling agricultural silage bale film are growing.
Several proposals to promote the collection and recycling of plastics have been made in the Swiss parliament (see links). The FOEN must now implement the adopted proposals. To this end, it draws up reports and proposes measures on how plastics can increasingly be recycled in future (see Consultation documents available in German, French and Italian on the amendment to the Ordinance on Beverage Containers, BCO).
Further information
Law
Links
Documents
Clean Cycle Project Results: plastic material flows and hazardous chemicals in plastics (PDF, 1 MB, 17.03.2025)Commissioned by the FOEN
Status, potentials and risks of Chemical recycling of waste plastics (PDF, 5 MB, 31.10.2023)Commissionned by the FOEN
Study "Kunststoff Recycling und Verwertung (KuRVe)" (PDF, 1 MB, 13.07.2017)Commissioned by the FOEN (available in German, French and Italian)
Project "Kunststoff-Verwertung Schweiz" (PDF, 5 MB, 02.12.2016)Report of modules 1 and 2. Commissioned by the FOEN (available in German)
Project "Kunststoff-Verwertung Schweiz" (PDF, 5 MB, 02.12.2016)Report of modules 3 and 4. Commissioned by the Round-Table on Plastics Recycling under the leadership of the FOEN (available in German including foreword, introductory remarks and summary in French and Italian)
Graphic of plastic flows in Switzerland 2010 (PDF, 437 kB, 27.07.2016)(available in German, French and Italian)
Study "Entsorgungssituation von Dämmmaterialien in der Schweiz" (PDF, 4 MB, 30.11.2016)Commissioned by the FOEN (available in German)
Study "Ökologischer Nutzen des PE-Folien-Recyclings Schweiz (Landwirtschaft, Industrie und Gewerbe)" (PDF, 1 MB, 01.01.2012)Commissioned by the FOEN (available in German including summary in French)
Last modification 31.07.2025
