Is it impossible to change to sustainable infrastructures ? The example of the evolution of the recycling system in Switzerland and some limitations

Dear blog

I haven't written for a long time. As one of my colleagues at the Swiss Solar Energy Society said, everyone knows what's up (reffering to what Al Gore, the IPCC reports, and many newspaper and television articles have been describing about the climate change crisis). I don't agree with him exactly on this. It's true that more and more people have heard about "the situation", and I have the feeling that more people are speaking more frankly about what they are doing.

However, if everyone knew what to do, then, (one example) there would be less automobiles on the road, the trains couldn't cope with the demand of all those ex-automobile drivers, and many environmentally friendlier vehicles would be produced, bought and used. I myself, see Switzerland as an experimental place. We have the possibility to implement changes and these could be seen as models for other countries.

One example of sustainability (although there are limits) is the widespread possibility of recycling practically every consumer good in use here.

Ten years ago the sustainability lobby was arguing for the stores to take back old, rejected, broken electronic and electric appliances. At first some of the stores and companies only took back old appliances which the consumer brought back for free if he or she bought a new one at that outlet. The next step, they took back appliances without the condition of the customer having to buy a new one at their premises, but some companies only took back appliances sold at their store or of a brand sold there. Yet, this evolved even more, now all electronic outlets are obliged (and I think they do comply) to take back all appliances and gadgets independent of its origin and future consumer behaviour. O.K., this was made easier, because Swiss appliances have an added "tax" (if you can call it this), when new articles are bought, that is a "recycling tax". This is organized very well for that sector (electronics).


I don't know the details in all European countries, but I do know that it is not the case all over the continent. A Bulgarian blogger which I have discovered on the internet, photographs a garbage depot almost every day and apparently, at least where she lives, things are simply dumped and burned. I hope that there will be a recycling solution for that community which will diminish the sort of material and avoid that which could be recycled.

One example of an evolution (after a long, long time of simple dumping) (which I recently saw on German television) in waste use is in Sao Paulo in Brazil. There are I think around 11 million people living in that city and one garbage disposal area was becoming more and more ecologically precarious. The area was then covered in earth and grass was planted. The weight of the material is so great, that the production of methanol is facilitated . I would have to get the details of this process, but the idea seems interesting. Now the waste disposal, produces fuel for energy. A short term solution, you may counter. But, at least something is now being done.

But, it would have been better to sort out as much material as possible FIRST through recycling and avoid the gigantic dumps. That would have been better. And if more and more material is still being produced, what happens then ? Yes, the sequel to this story is still missing, or I did not get it ?

Another idea which the television documentary spoke about in Sao Paulo, is for material to be recycled and put to use for arts and crafts. Again, I have come upon this in the internet, art out of
... For people who do not have a great economical buying power, access to materials seems to empower them.

When I visited Brazil the last time, I talked about the German and Swiss recycling perfectionist mentality. As my discussion partners were socially aware, and wary of shutting out people who are already occupied in that area (many using wooden carts to collect material). My conversation partners were sceptical. But, my counter argument, that people already collecting paper, aluminium cans, plastic, whatever, especially in big cities, could be integrated in an even more organized recycling campaign, and that is exactly what I have recenlty seen in the internet.

Then we come to one of the limits in the system. Raw materials, including those collected from used consumer goods, have a market value. In Switzerland, some recycling steps are very expensive (for people with little money, and these people exist here too !). So the consumer often has to pay for the goods to be collected (depending on the area they live in and on the material). On the other hand, the people who collect these, earn doubly, because some metal prices have soared in the last couple of years. So, illegal dumping, still persists in Switzerland because of people who cannot afford the recycling taxes, or the transport to the collections places. And then the beaurocratic excesses can be totally bereft of social understanding.

If someone is visiting or travelling and produces wastes (lunch, packaging for their presents back home, etc) they cannot buy the taxable plastic bags, because these are only available in the specific counties. But if you are travelling, you cannot do this. Or you use the wrong taxed plastic bag and can be liable for a fine. The last I heard, the use of a wrong plastic bag was one hundred Swiss francs in Zurich.

Or, if your job is one on a construction site or in a restaurant or hotel and you work long, long hours away from home, what do you do ? A restaurant cook wanted to recycle a metal pan
in Winterthur once (which is highly commendable). He had long, long working hours in Winterthur, so he went to the recycling centre in that city. In his home, let's say Schaffhausen, he is only home at very early or very late hours. You still don't understand ? The recycling containers, although in the open, have stringent opening hours. (To protect the people living in the neighbourhood from excessive noise of aluminium cans being put in a container !) Which the cook could not possibly comply to at home. Well, as he parked his car, the video camera caught his picture and the license plate of his car, illegally recycling the metal as it was out of his resident county and he was caught and had to pay one hundred francs for illegal recycling. Note, the material was correct, the recycling container was correct (metal recycling). This case shown on local television - but criticizing the poor bloke who just wanted to recycle something. How reality blind can people get ? I mean the ones who think that eveyone has a nine to five job near their home...

But... independent of these beaurocratic limitations, the system seems to work.

Last year I went with a group on a visit to the only metal recycling factory in Switzerland that was very impressive, but I might tell you about this another time.