Parliament wants a nationwide ban on littering
Published: Thursday, Dec 7th 2023, 14:10
Updated At: Thursday, Dec 7th 2023, 14:10
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Throwing litter away carelessly or leaving it lying around is to be banned throughout Switzerland in future. After the National Council, the Council of States has also spoken out in favor of such a national littering ban.
On Thursday, the lower chamber tacitly approved the National Council's decision to include such a passage in a revision of the Environmental Protection Act. The regulation stipulates that the cantons can make exceptions to this littering ban for events that require a permit.
The national littering ban is not yet a done deal: the revision of the Environmental Protection Act initiated by a National Council committee still has to be finalized and pass the final vote.
In May of this year, the SVP criticized the plans for a national littering ban in the National Council. Such a ban would be "anti-liberal and un-Swiss", said Michael Graber (SVP/VS) at the time. The Federal Council also wanted nothing to do with a national ban and referred to existing cantonal bans.
Core concern circular economy
Two revisions of the Environmental Protection Act are currently being discussed in parliament. The one concerning the ban on littering comes from the National Council's Environment Committee. The central concern of this bill is to strengthen the circular economy in Switzerland.
If possible, items that are no longer used or usable should be passed on or recycled. Waste should be reused and recycled where this brings real added value.
In this context, the Council of States decided on Thursday not to impose an obligation on retailers to remove the packaging from unsold biogenic products before disposal and to collect them separately. Biogenic products include food and potted plants. It reached this decision by a very narrow margin of 21 votes to 20. The National Council has spoken out in favor of such an obligation.
Like the National Council, the Council of States wants to liberalize the collection of waste. However, it maintains 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 types of waste.
Too much recyclable waste
At the end of November, the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) announced that less waste ended up in garbage bags in Switzerland in 2022 than ten years ago. Nevertheless, a fifth of garbage consists of materials that are actually recyclable. In addition, more than half of the food thrown away could have been avoided by disposing of it.
In connection with this finding, FOEN Director Katrin Schneeberger said that we must continue to work towards a circular economy.
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