Hazardous Waste

What counts as hazardous waste

From households: paints, varnishes, wood stains, solvents, thinners, adhesives, waste oil, antifreeze, batteries and rechargeable cells, fluorescent tubes and energy-saving lamps, cleaning products carrying hazard symbols, plant protection and pest control products, medicines, mercury thermometers, fire extinguishers and aerosol cans with contents left in them.

From workshops and businesses, additionally: brake fluid, coolant, acids and alkalis, photographic chemicals, laboratory chemicals, contaminated cleaning rags and oil binding agents.

The documentation requirement

Hazardous waste in Switzerland is controlled through accompanying documents (“Begleitscheine”). Anyone handing over hazardous waste receives proof of where it was disposed of. For commercial quantities this record is mandatory and must be retained.

This matters to you as the client because responsibility for correct disposal stays with whoever produced the waste. So for relevant quantities, ask for the disposal certificate (“Entsorgungsnachweis”) — not just an invoice.

What typically turns up in Swiss cellars

Practically every house clearance yields between ten and fifty kilograms of hazardous waste — usually old tins of paint, solvents and plant protection products, often decades old and sometimes bearing the names of products long since banned. Such material is packed separately, labelled and handed over to an approved collection point.