Waste disposal reaches new high
More municipal waste than ever before was collected in 2008, the Federal Environment Office reported on Tuesday.
The total amount thrown away was 5.65 million metric tons, up 190,000 metric tons on 2007. About half of it was recycled. The rest was incinerated and used to produce heat and light.
The office says that Switzerland has sufficient capacity to incinerate all its waste and that no more plants need to be built.
The amount of imported rubbish fell by 11 per cent. The decrease had been expected, as Germany, the major exporter, has increased its own incineration capacity.
Less waste is expected to be produced in 2009 because of the economic turndown.
The Swiss attach a lot of importance to recycling, and Switzerland is a world leader in recycling domestic waste.
Since 2000 all non-recyclable, combustible waste must by law be incinerated.
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