Swiss Bottle Manufacturers Fund Recycling Schemes

The total income from this tax in 2002 came to a higher-than-expected SFr24.4 million ($18.1 million), of which SFr18.4 will go directly to those communities involved in glass recycling. The remainder of the sum will be held as a reserve and to cover the costs of advertising campaigns. The agency estimates that the handout will fund most of the cost of collecting glass for recycling incurred by local communities.

The notion of “polluter-payer” - in which the companies that manufacture materials take responsibility for paying for them to be recycled - is enshrined in both the law on the protection of the environment and the Swiss Constitution.

This law already applies to PET (plastic) bottles and aluminum cans, although the recycling of these products is managed by private businesses and not the authorities.

The agency says it is now up to local communities to manage the money handed out to them for glass collection and to inform their citizens on how it is spent.

VetroSwiss calculated that around 290,100 tons of used glass were collected in 2002, down from 293,700 tons in 2001. – www.swissinfo.org