From October, a brand new recycling system will be launched across Switzerland. Backed by Swiss supermarkets, the new system will allow people in the alpine nation to easily recycle cartons and other plastic packaging for the first time.

RecyPac to launch as Switzerland's newest recycling system

Called RecyPac, the new recycling system was created by local retailers Migros, Coop, Lidl, Aldi and Spar alongside food manufacturers Nestlé, Unilever and Emmi. The aim is to allow residents across Swiss cities and cantons to recycle items that are usually just thrown in the regular rubbish.

While the recycling process for PET bottles and cardboard is well known, non-PET plastics like milk and juice cartons, shampoo and washing-up liquid bottles, yoghurt pots and the plastic packaging around salads and fruit are very rarely recycled in Switzerland. Speaking to Watson, RecyPac managing director Odile Inauen noted that just 3 percent of these plastics are ever recycled, a far worse rate compared to the country’s immediate neighbours.

"Of the 195.000 tons of plastic packaging and beverage cartons that are generated as waste in Swiss households, only around 6.000 tons are currently recycled," she noted. With the launch of RecyPac, both she and the government hope to increase recycling rates to 55 percent for plastic packaging and 70 percent for beverage cartons by 2030.

Key questions about the new plastic recycling system in Switzerland

With this in mind, here’s how the new RecyPac plastic recycling system in Switzerland will work:

When will nationwide plastic recycling be launched in Switzerland?

Inauen confirmed that RecyPac bags will be launched across Switzerland at the beginning of October. However, as the collection of recycling is a public monopolised industry, it will be up to individual Swiss councils to decide if and when to introduce the system.

What items are allowed in RecyPac recycling bags?

The new bags will allow residents to recycle all non-PET plastics that used to be simply thrown away. These include a majority of plastic packaging, non-transparent bottles used for shampoos and detergents and beverage cartons made by firms like Tetra Pac.

How much will plastic recycling cost in Switzerland?

While RecyPac is a non-profit project, much like other waste management systems in Switzerland the sale of the bags will be used to fund the programme, meaning they will not be free. In a statement, the project said that while they could not announce a universal price, it would be cheaper than regular waste bags offered by the council.

Where can I buy the new RecyPac bags?

Like regular waste bags, the RecyPac bags will be available to purchase at local shops, supermarkets and the local council itself. Once full, the bags can be handed in at the regular recycling collection points offered by supermarkets and local municipalities.

Where will my recycled plastic be processed?

"Unfortunately, there is currently no suitable recycling infrastructure for plastic packaging and beverage carton waste in Switzerland," Inauen conceded. Therefore, the waste collected as part of the scheme will be sent to plants in southern Germany and Austria to be processed.

"We are in talks to set up a corresponding recycling plant in Switzerland and hope that one can start operations in just a few years," she continued.

Plastic packaging the third most common waste in Switzerland

In response to the new scheme, Swiss Beverage Carton Recycling Association director Simone Alabor noted that cartons amount to the third most used packaging in Switzerland after glass and PET bottles. "If recycling is implemented across Switzerland, there will be no more environmentally friendly packaging on the market than the beverage carton," she noted.

Others are not so keen: "The ecological benefit is very small and the effort is relatively large… Material and energy have to be invested in every new packaging," argued Greenpeace Switzerland spokesperson Michelle Sandmeier. Instead, their organisation called for supermarkets, the government and food companies to create an ecological reusable system nationwide.

Thumb image credit: RecyPac