Processing industry Swiss collect 3.1 million tons of recycled materials per year
Every person in Switzerland returns 50 shopping baskets full of recycled materials to the cycle every year. That equates to 350 kilograms per person. Across the country, 3.1 million tons of recyclable materials can be processed into new raw materials.
25.11.2025, 11:00
SDA
This is equivalent to 3.5 times the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA, as the umbrella organization of Swiss recycling organizations, Swiss Recycle, announced on Tuesday. The environmental impact avoided through recycling corresponds to that of the city of Lugano with its more than 66,000 inhabitants.
More than half of municipal waste is collected separately and then recycled, it added. A little goes a long way. One collected PET drinks bottle (0.5 l) saves as much environmental pollution as 43 inquiries on ChatGPT.
One kilo of collected batteries and rechargeable batteries in turn eliminates as much environmental pollution as a train journey from Bern to Geneva. And almost 8.7 kilograms of iron can be recovered from an LCD TV.
The figures are taken from Swiss Recycle's 2025 performance report, which is based on the latest waste statistics from the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN).
According to the FOEN, Switzerland's recycling rate is 52%. Many of the materials that were sent to landfill or incinerated in 1970 are now collected separately and recycled.
At the same time, however, the amount of waste generated per capita in Switzerland has tripled since 1970. Despite the high recycling rate, this has a significant impact on the environment.
