More than 70 companies along the value chain have committed to setting up a collection and recycling system for plastics packaging and beverage cartons across the Alpine country, according to Swiss Recycling (Zurich; www.swissrecycling.ch). Stakeholders – manufacturers, brand owners, retailers, and recyclers – signed an agreement in 2022 to closing the loop for plastics packaging and beverage cartons following parliamentary initiatives.

The group has now decided to introduce a uniform nationwide collection bag. In addition, a uniform pricing system is to be developed based on the three pillars of bag contributions, contributions from distributors, and recycling revenues. This is to cover all costs from collection to sorting to recycling.

Additionally, recycling quotas were defined until 2030, which amount to 55% for plastics packaging and 70% for beverage cartons and are in line with EU targets. Distributors will also be held more accountable than before. They are obligated to develop packaging more with with a focus on designing for recycling.

Through nationwide collection, the recycling quantities in Switzerland are to increase. According to the Swiss Plastic Recyclers Association (VSPR, Olten; www.plasticrecycler.ch), the amount of plastics waste collected from Swiss households in 2022 was almost 9,500 t, or 10% more than the year before.