Competence Center for Plastic Recycling

Waste is the raw material of tomorrow. Because waste is a valuable resource that should not simply be wasted. When plastics are incinerated once, valuable materials are lost.

Plastic recycling conserves fossil raw materials

Why collect plastic

By recycling plastics, they can be used several times and kept in the cycle. This saves fossil raw materials such as crude oil or gas. In addition, the production of plastics from recycled material requires less energy and contributes to a reduction in CO2 emissions.

Great recycling potential

However, there is still a lot of potential in the recycling of plastics - for household plastics and packaging as well as in the commercial and industrial sectors or in agriculture.

According to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), around one million tons of plastics are consumed in Switzerland every year - that's 125 kg per capita.
Around 250,000 tons of these remain in use for a long time as durable products (e.g. pipes and PVC window frames).
Around 780,000 tons of plastic waste are produced every year, of which over 80 percent (around 650,000 tons) is incinerated in waste incineration plants and a good 6 percent is used to generate energy in cement plants. Only around 80,000 tons are recycled.