AKA Trash bags to some, garbage bags to others
Disposing of your daily waste byproducts is a daunting task for many arriving in Switzerland. In most communities, the use of specific bags is mandated and if you throw out your garbage in a regular bag, perhaps one sourced from the supermarket, you will be fined at least 100 Francs!
Typically, as a new resident, you can visit the website of your local community and find out what the process is for regular trash as well as disposing of other items (glass, metal, paper, cardboard, etc). You can also ask in the local supermarkets for garbage bags and they usually will be able to help you.
A new service concept to order the bags online exists via binbag.ch. It seems that not all communities have onboarded to supply bags through the service but it’s a good option to be able to see the bags that might be required at your new home. The Coop supermarket also has many of the bags available in its online shop, 101 different bags are available at this time!
Some communities have stickers, some require nothing…
Of course the federal nature of Switzerland is strong when it comes to garbage bags and disposal; some communities have stickers to put on bags and some require nothing at all (but you will likely pay a local charge for garbage collection).
When you register in Switzerland for the first time, you will usually be handed some information as to how the system works. If you move, you can register that change online now but it might be valuable to you to visit your new community office and get the information you need when handling garbage. You can also look in the local containers to see if you seek bags, stickers or if it’s possible to drop anything into the container.
A note about Recycling
As garbage disposal is typically expensive in Switzerland, your aim is to reduce what you throw away and increase what you recycle – plus this is essential for the environment!
Some tips:
- Glass, metal, clothing, coffee capsules and more – there are collection points spread around Switzerland. Use this service to locate them. Detailed on that website are localised collection points as well as the bigger depots where everything can be disposed of (mostly for free but some items and materials have a cost)
- PET bottles and plastic, batteries and bulbs can usually be recycled at your local supermarket
- Electrical goods you no longer require or no longer work can be recycled at any shop selling such items – this is down to SWICO charges on new items to support such recycling efforts
- ALDI often allows you to bring cardboard to their shops for disposal
- Nespresso offers a free service to recycle capsules (“Recycling at Home“)
