Council of States committee wants to combat throwaway culture
Published: Friday, Nov 17th 2023, 15:40
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Waste should be avoided as far as possible in Switzerland. If possible, items that are no longer used or usable should be passed on or recycled. Following the lead of the National Council, the responsible Council of States committee also wants a change in waste culture.
The Council of States' Committee for the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy (Urek-S) unanimously approved the "Strengthening the Swiss circular economy" bill in the overall vote, as reported by the parliamentary services on Friday. The committee therefore largely followed the resolutions of the National Council. Among other things, new nationwide fines for littering are to be enshrined in the Environmental Protection Act.
Differences in the collection of waste
Unlike the Grand Chamber, however, the Urek-S wants to maintain the cantons' monopoly on the disposal of municipal waste. Voluntary collection by private companies should only be possible if the Federal Council approves this for certain waste fractions, as the committee unanimously requested.
With this regulation, the Commission wants to ensure that private collections are not discontinued if, for example, this is no longer profitable due to fluctuating recyclable material prices and the public sector then has to fill the gap. The planning and financing of waste disposal by the cantons and municipalities should not be made more difficult, the Commission wrote.
Anti-littering campaign called for
The Commission also proposes to strengthen reuse as a form of waste recycling. In addition, only as much phosphorus should be recovered from sewage sludge as is necessary to cover domestic demand.
In contrast to the National Council, the Council of States Committee continues to oppose an obligation to unpack unsold biogenic products. In its view, this measure would only have a relatively small ecological benefit at a high economic cost. The minority would like to retain this measure, as was reported.
Finally, the Urek-S supports a motion by National Councillor Jean-Pierre Grin (SVP/VD) calling for a national awareness-raising and prevention campaign against littering. Both issues are expected to be dealt with by the Council of States in the winter session.
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