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From us for you
Thanks to our cooperation with our around 850 ARF partners and more than 600 waste disposal partners, we were able to continue running a successful take-back system in 2019. Together we have achieved a great deal.
Foreword by the Foundation President
30 years of SENS eRecycling
In 2019, eRecycling was shaped by politics. Should it be completely obligatory? Partially obligatory? Or not obligatory at all? Where do we go from here? How and with whom? These questions dominated discussions and were frequently the subject of heated debates. But when we try to see the bigger picture and look beyond the political machinations, we see that the world keeps on turning and nothing stays still. For SENS eRecycling, it is quite the opposite: new recycling performance records are being hit all the time.
Last year, we celebrated our 30th anniversary. We were the first organisation in Europe to implement manufacturer responsibility (for manufacturers, importers and retailers), ensuring that products that have become waste are disposed of in the best possible way and that they can be reintroduced into the cycle – nota bene: on a voluntary basis – in compliance with the relevant environmental regulations. From the outset, we have been pioneers in returning used electrical and electronic appliances.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped make our success possible over the last 30 years:
- The recycling companies, who with their expertise and innovation, together with the transporters ensure the return of the highest amount of used electronics and electrical appliances in Europe every year via more than 600 collection points and many thousands of retailer return points.
- The manufacturers, importers and retailers who entrust us with implementing manufacturer responsibility.
- The federal, cantonal and local authorities who put their trust in us.
- And last but not least, the consumers who bring their decommissioned appliances to the right collection point and comply with waste separation rules.
The future of the take-back system that has been politically set in motion in Switzerland is yet to be determined. For me and for SENS eRecycling, the top priority is and will remain protecting the environment, which also entails implementing recycling efficiently according to the principles of sustainability, including in the private sector. We are working hard to make this a reality and we want to continue to hold the top recycling spot for another (30?) years with your cooperation. Now that’s something to get excited about!
Andreas Röthlisberger
One more thing: At the start of the year (in the time before the coronavirus crisis), we commissioned a five-episode documentary film. It tells of the power of innovative ideas – and the efficiency of solutions that are based on the principle of voluntary participation and taking personal economic responsibility.
Want to see the trailer? Click here to watch the trailer.
Foreword by the Managing Director
“Normally ...”
When writing the foreword, I would normally be sitting in my office and reflecting on the year gone by. I enjoy this opportunity to speak to you directly about the highlights of the past year and to share some recent experiences at SENS with you. But nothing about right now can be described as normal.
This should not be taken as a lament about the current situation. We all have our daily obstacles to overcome, but for us, when we dig deeper, we see that these challenges also spur us on. They make us more inventive and show us just how important our partnerships are. The figures and reports for the last financial year clearly reflect this.
In cooperation with Swiss Post, we have developed a pilot project for collecting electronic waste from the household parcel box. A letter was sent with a collection bag enclosed and our Junkopus asked children in the test region to dispose of their old electric toys in a collection bag in their own parcel box. The number of returns far exceeded the target and the quality of the collected goods was very good, with only 1 per cent impurities. Consistently positive feedback was also received from a variety of people from the test region. We were able to recruit numerous families to the eRecycling cause by giving away a keyring and by awarding the title of Recycling Hero. We made recycling fun – and since this pilot project was such a success, we are continuing it and expanding it to a larger test region.
I was particularly pleased by the many projects we have under way in cooperation with our customers and partners. Thanks to these partnerships, we attended two trade fairs (BEL.CH and FEA-EXPO) and we were able to demonstrate the valuable contribution that the SENS take-back system can make through our contractual partners. At the Wiederkehr Recycling AG open day, we had the opportunity to explain eRecycling to the general public and help raise their awareness of it.
The stellar reputation of Switzerland’s recycling systems reaches far beyond our borders. We have hit recycling quotas that other European countries can only dream of. The WEEE Forum is the world’s largest international centre of competence for the management of electronic waste. In May 2019, Switzerland hosted the General Assembly of the WEEE Forum and impressed guests from across Europe with a visit to Europe’s leading refrigerator recycler, Oeko-Service Schweiz AG in Rheinfelden.
Even now, when we have to keep our distance physically speaking, we have the opportunity to draw closer together and support each other. Thanks to its solid foundation of cooperation, the SENS take-back system is continuing to run. eRecycling is still working and proper disposal is guaranteed. Things are almost exactly the same as “normal”, just with a few small differences. Although the protection of the environment is not heavily featured in the headlines at the moment, it is still what we strive for, and what we will continue to strive for in the future.
With warm regards
Heidi Luck
