Recycling of PET bottles works very well in Switzerland. With the remaining plastic packaging, there is obviously a need to catch up: according to Redilo GmbH, 80 per cent of plastic packaging still ends up in the residual waste. Redilo is a consulting and planning agency on the topic of recycling plastics, which is behind the pioneering realCycle project made possible by the Migros Pioneer Fund. RealCycle is also managing the pilot project in Reinach in cooperation with Swiss Post: Starting in June, postal carriers will not only deliver letters, but will also pick up empty plastic bottles and beverage cartons collected in sacks and bring them to the Reinach post office, from where they will be taken to Müller Recycling in Frauenfeld for sorting. The sorted plastic bottles are then crushed, washed and processed into regranulate in Switzerland, from which new plastic products can be made again. The pilot project is an example of how simple the plastics recycling economy of tomorrow can function, says Corinne Grässle, project manager at realCycle. According to Melanie Haupt, co-project manager of realCycle and lecturer for circular economy at ETH Zurich, there is no recycling plant for beverage cartons yet, so these are recycled in France and Germany. Other plastic packaging such as yoghurt pots or foils are left out of the pilot project. The pilot project is said to run for six months, and an expansion of the collection area was already being planned, according to realCycle.

 

More information: www.realcycle.ch

 

Sources:

• recyclingportal.eu (20.5.2021)
• Photo: © Eveline Lenzin