This Site with a Map may help you to find your way about '
Rubbish Disposal in Switzerland'
Rubbish and Recycling
Asking for Info about rubbish disposal and recycling on EF is not really a successful way of getting the information one is looking for. Each parish, village, commune has its own rules regarding rubbish disposal and recycling – and they differ a lot from place to place. Six people may answer your questions; however, what they may well be telling you is what happens in THEIR town or village, which wasn’t exactly what interested you.
The most important abbreviations in this post. Isa = in some areas. Ima = in most areas. Where can I get local information about collections and dumps in my area?
Isa a leaflet, sheet or rubbish calendar is distributed to each household every year with relevant information.
Isa the information is on the Home Page of the Town, City, Village.
Many villages and towns have a Homepage.
www.’name of village’.ch
On the Site, in the German speaking part of Switzerland, look for words like Verwaltung = Administration
Entsorgung = disposal
Recycling = recycling
Kehricht, Abfall, Müll = rubbish, waste, garbage
Sammlung = Collection
Sammelstelle = Collection place as in
Glas Sammelstelle = bottle bank.
Abfuhr = Removal as in
Kehrichtabfuhr = rubbish collection
Ima there is a
Regional Sammelstelle – local collection site. Isa certain forms of rubbish will be paid for by weight. Other things are free
Basel has a useful leaflet as to which things belong under which heading. Page 2-13
IGNORE dates and things. This only applies (or more accurately, in 2004 applied) to Basel.
Costs
Ima there is a ‘fee’ on rubbish disposal. Ima there are special rubbish bags (
Gebührensäcke) or Stickers (
Gebührenmarken). to be stuck on the bag, or, in the case of large articles, to be stuck on the article. Ima the Gebührensäcke are often not visibly on sale in shops. Ask at customer services or when paying at the cash-desk. Each town has its own colour and design! The one shown is for Baselstadt.
Hauskehricht – normal household rubbish. Isa it goes to a
Kehrichtverbrennungsanlage where the rubbish is burned and the fumes etc. go through special filters to protect the air.
Ima the rubbish is collected weekly. Isa rubbish sacks can be put out on the pavement. Only Isa is this permitted the night before. Ima dogs/foxes open them and spread the contents around.
Isa there are
large containers and the rubbish bags are placed in them (usually 35L bags) Isa 17L and 60L sacks are also available.
Isa there are new ‘
Unterirdische Abfallkübel’ where the rubbish, in the correct rubbish bag, is put into an opening and falls into an underground container. (Isa smaller but of similar design are ‘normal’ rubbish bins in parks etc.)
The latest in high tech seems to be below ground containers which are ‘accessed’ by an electronic card and the rubbish weighed and later the owner of the card billed.
It is not permitted to burn treated wood, household rubbish etc. in your fireplace or in the open air.
Don’t ask me for details, I only work here!
Other useful words Alteisen, Altmetall = other metal
Isa there is a metal container. Isa it has to be taken to the regional collection area.
Alu Büchsen= aluminium drink cans
Isa all the tin goes into one opening and will be sorted (presumably with a magnet) afterwards; Isa you have to sort them as you put them in.
Batterien und Akkus - Batteries and Rechargeable Batteries can be taken back to the shops where they are sold.
Bauschutt = Building rubble
Brennbar = can be burned
Büchsen, Weissblech, Stahlblechdosen = Tins, tin cans
Elektrische Geräte - Electrical goods - can be taken back to the shop. A disposal fee is paid when you buy it. Don’t dump them!
Glas = wine bottles, jam jars etc. Ima sorted by colour, remove all metal bits, not flat glass (window panes) or mirrors
Glühbirne - ‘Old fashioned’ electric light bulbs go into the household rubbish. Long-life bulbs and neon lights, fluorescent lighting tubes) go back to the shop.
Grubengut = stuff which cannot be burned and doesn't decompose (for the rubbish dump/waste disposal site).
PET collection containers are to be found in or outside many shops selling drinks in PET bottles. Ima they are not necessarily near a bottle bank.
Karton = cardboard, (NOT cartons which are 'lined' cardboard i.e. no milk/orange juice cartons). Isa it must be bundled. Isa small cartons can be put inside bigger cartons! Isa same day as newspaper. Isa there is a separate collection
Kinderkleider = childrens’ clothes. Kinderkleiderbörse = secondhand childrens’ clothes shop/sale (Isa twice a year in spring and autumn)
Kompost,Grüngut = vegetable matter for compost. Isa it is collected. Isa there is a green container to put it in. Isa there are compost heaps.
Medikamente = Unused medicines - bring them back to the chemist. Don’t put them in the toilet. Our ‘cleaned’ water goes back into rivers, lakes and such and they flow happily through the rest of Europe taking any substances which cannot be removed (or haven’t been caught onto yet) with them.
Möbel usw. – Furniture etc. Try a
Brockenhaus = Second-hand place,
Heilsarmee = Salvation Army,
Bring- und Holmarkt = Bring and Buy Sale
, Flohmarkt = similar to Car Boot Sale
Mulde – if you have a lot of big stuff to shift which is no good to anyone, Isa you can order a container (skip) from your parish to come for you to fill, or have a couple of guys come with one and fill it with your stuff. DON’T leave your skip unattended or you may get a higher bill than you expected – the neighbours may well help you fill it!!
Reifen =Tyres – ask your garage. Schuhe, Leder = still wearable shoes (please fasten pairs of shoes together). Isa these can be put into the same container as clothes but in a separate bag. Isa other leather articles (eg. handbags etc. are also collected in a special bag (delivered to each house).
Sondermüll, Sonderabfall = paint, thinners, anything which has potentially poisonous properties when burnt or dumped. Isa there is a collection a couple of times a year.
Speergut = large items
Styropor = polystyrene – Isa it is recycled. Isa it isn’t. Isa you mustn’t break it up. Isa polystyrene chips are NOT collected.
Textilien, Altkleider = Clothes which can still be worn. Textiles which are still usable. Texaid collection points or similar. Isa bags, which are delivered a couple of weeks beforehand, with a date printed on them, are collected on the appropriate day from the roadside.
Zeitungen, Papiersammlung = Newspapers (
Sammlung = Collection) Ima they are collected from time to time. Ima they have to be tied in bundles. Ima – not too big or heavy as children help at the collection. Tied because newspapers slip out of bags; carrier bags disintegrate if wet; the paper is often picked up and moved (by hand) twice; sticky tape is not good for the recycling process. Ima they can also be brought to the local main Rubbish Collection place.
For 'once a year' sort of things check the local internet site around the relevant time.
e.g. Weihnachtsbäume = Christmas Trees. Where and when you can get rid of them and up to which height they will be accepted (chop them in half if too big!) varies, surprise, surprise, from parish to parish.
If anyone has any words of wisdom to add to this please contact me.
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