Residual Waste (Kehricht)

The polluter-pays principle

Switzerland finances waste disposal on the polluter-pays principle (Verursacherprinzip): whoever produces more residual waste pays more. In everyday life this is implemented through chargeable rubbish bags or bag stickers — in the City of Zurich the Züri-Sack. Recyclable fractions, by contrast, are mostly free or cheap, which is a deliberate incentive to separate waste.

In a clearance, nothing is billed via bags. The material is weighed in directly at the waste-to-energy plant (Kehrichtverwertungsanlage, KVA), and rates run at roughly CHF 200 to CHF 350 per tonne depending on the plant and the region.

Energy recovery instead of landfill

Residual waste is not landfilled in Switzerland; it is burned in waste-to-energy plants. The heat produced is used for district heating and electricity generation. Metals are recovered from the slag, and only the remaining residue is landfilled.

This is why incineration in Switzerland is not a synonym for waste — it is the second-best recovery step after material recycling.

What typically ends up as residual waste

In clearances: upholstered furniture and mattresses, soiled or damp textiles, coated chipboard furniture, composite materials that cannot be separated, plastics outside the collection schemes, and anything rendered unusable by damp or mould.