Guide to waste: Keywords A–Z
A
Acids
→ Chemicals
Agricultural waste
Agricultural waste is waste arising from crop-growing or livestock farming in agricultural holdings.
Air conditioning units
→ Refrigerators
Aluminium packaging
Collecting aluminium saves energy: 95 % less energy is required to produce packaging from recycled aluminium than from new material. Aluminium packaging can be disposed of at communal collection points. Fashionable coffee pods are accepted by retail outlets and communal collection points.
B
Bicycle tyres/tubes
→ Used tyres
C
Cardboard
→ Paper and cardboard
Carpets
→ Clothing and shoes
Cat litter
Almost one in three Swiss households has a cat. That's a lot of cat litter to dispose of. Cat litter can be either organic (e.g. plant fibres) or mineral (e.g. silica). All types of cat litter should be incinerated after use, as they may contain pathogens or traces of any medication the cat is on. Organic cat litter is preferable to other types of litter because when it is incinerated, it produces energy and leaves little residue.
CDs and DVDs
Music CDs, DVDs, Blue-ray discs and DVD ROMs: several billion of these shiny discs are placed on the global market every year. Because these data media contain valuable plastic, their recycling via retail outlets and collection points makes sense.
Chemicals
Chemicals often have properties that pose a threat to human health and the environment. Hence they present particular technical and organisational requirements in terms of their collection, transport and disposal.
Clothing and shoes
As clothing consumption per capita continues to rise, the pressure on the environment increases as well. Cotton production in particular uses up many resources and causes pollution. Curbing consumption and textile labels and recycling clothes and shoes domestically and abroad are good for the environment.
Coffee pods/capsules
→ Aluminium packaging
Compost
→ Biodegradable waste
Computers
→ Electrical and electronic equipment
E
Effluent sludge
Effluent sludge is produced during the treatment of waste water in waste water treatment plants. Effluent sludge contains plant nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, but also some heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, copper and zinc.