Disposal & recycling
Bulky Waste
Also known as: bulky refuse · large item waste · Sperrgut · Sperrmüll
Bulky waste (“Sperrgut”) is waste too large to fit in a standard rubbish bag — furniture, mattresses, carpets, skis and similar items. In Switzerland it is disposed of at collection points, via bulky-waste stickers, or through a paid collection service.
What counts as bulky waste
Bulky waste is combustible waste too large for the official rubbish bag: upholstered furniture, mattresses, carpets, chipboard wardrobe elements, suitcases, sports equipment, prams, plastic garden furniture.
What is not bulky waste: electrical appliances (separate take-back), metal (scrap metal collection), treated and untreated wood in larger quantities (waste wood collection), construction rubble and sanitary ceramics (construction waste), car tyres, hazardous waste and green waste. These fractions will be turned away at the collection point if they turn up mixed into bulky waste.
How bulky waste is handled in Switzerland
The systems differ from municipality to municipality. Common arrangements are: handing it in at the municipal collection point against a fee by weight; bulky-waste stickers (“Sperrgutmarken”) bought in advance and stuck onto the item according to its volume or length; periodic bulky-waste collections on fixed dates; and drop-off at regional recycling yards.
In the City of Zurich, bulky waste is handled by ERZ Entsorgung + Recycling Zürich — either by dropping it off at a collection point or through a paid collection that has to be ordered in advance.
When hiring a firm pays off
For a single piece of furniture and with a suitable vehicle, doing it yourself is cheaper. As soon as several items are involved, you have no vehicle, the item is on an upper floor without a lift, or the material is mixed, a collection is usually faster and often no more expensive overall — because you avoid several trips and fees at different facilities.
A real-world example
A household in Dietikon disposes of the following after replacing its furniture: a three-seater sofa, two armchairs, a mattress, a carpet and a wall unit. Doing it themselves would mean three trips with a rental vehicle, plus fees at the collection point and carrying everything down from the second floor without a lift. The collection service handles it in seventy minutes — at comparable total cost and with no effort on their part.
Services that cover this
Frequently asked questions about Bulky Waste
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