How and where you can dispose of your electrical appliances free of charge

Don’t want to pay extra to dispose of your electrical and electronic equipment? You don’t have to! Thanks to the advance recycling contribution, you already paid for the disposal of your appliance when you bought it. Here’s where to take goods back for recycling free of charge.

You know that old electrical appliances don’t belong in the household waste and would rather dispose of them properly. But do you think that this will probably cost a lot? Don’t worry! This is precisely why the advance recycling contribution (ARC) was created in Switzerland. It ensures that disposal is paid for when electrical and electronic equipment is first purchased. This means that you will not incur any extra costs for recycling. That’s why you can dispose of your broken toaster, old washing machine or discarded vacuum cleaner free of charge at an appropriate collection point. The collection network is huge, so you are bound to find a suitable location in your area. We explain which devices to take where:

Specialist stores: everything that can be found in their product range

Retailers have a legal obligation to take back all the electrical and electronic equipment that they stock themselves. If, for example, you can buy a toaster in an electrical store, you can hand in your old appliance there for disposal – free of charge. You do not have to provide proof of purchase to show that you have already paid the advance recycling fee, nor are you obliged to buy a new device in the shop. 

SENS collection points: household appliances

Refrigerators, blenders, vacuum cleaners, washing machines, sports equipment – all the electrical appliances that you need for your household or leisure activities can be taken to a SENS collection point. An overview of all collection point locations is given on the eRecycling map.

Things that don’t belong in eRecycling

The following principle applies at all collection points: please only take the electrical appliance itself for disposal. This does not include original packaging, food scraps, vacuum cleaner bags, ink cartridges etc. Please dispose of such contents separately in advance.