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See all EU institutions and bodiesThe indicator shows the total generated amount of all types of waste from all economic sectors and households, and compares it with economic development measured as gross domestic product (GDP).
In 2020, the total waste volume in Switzerland amounted to approximately 87 Mt. The largest share, around 82 %, came from construction and civil engineering. Excavation and demolition materials accounted for nearly two thirds of all waste, with one fifth originating from the demolition of buildings, roads and railway tracks. Around 7% of all waste was municipal waste, which includes waste from . Between 2000 and 2024, the annual amount of municipal waste increased from 4.7 Mt to 6 Mt, representing a rise in per capita waste from 659kg to . In the past few years, the waste generation per capita has stagnated. Nevertheless, Switzerland still has one of the highest waste generation rates worldwide, relative to its population.
Of the remaining waste, 6.6% was of biogenic origin, 2.1% was hazardous waste and 1.8% was iron and steel scrap [1]. The amount of incinerated and , and the share of separately collected and . Since 2005, more than half of municipal waste has been returned to the economy as secondary raw materials. The current recycling rate for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles, paper, .
References and footnotes
- ↵Federal Office for the Environment, Environment Switzerland 2022 – Report of the Federal Council, Bern, 2023, p. 148, https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/en/home/documentation/reports/environmental-report.html.
- ↵Federal Office for the Environment, ‘Indikator abfall – Siedlungsabfälle’, Federal Office for the Environment website, 27 March 2025, accessed 12 June 2025, https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/themen/thema-abfall/abfall--daten--indikatoren-und-karten/abfall--indikatoren/indikator-abfall.pt.html/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5kaWthdG9yZW4uYWRtaW4uY2gvUHVibG/ljL0FlbURldGFpbD9pbmQ9QUIwMDUmbG5nPWRlJlN1Ymo9Tg%3d%3d.html.
- ↵Federal Office for the Environment, ‘Indikator abfall – Abfallverbrennung’, Federal Office for the Environment website, 17 October 2024, accessed 12 June 2025, https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/themen/thema-abfall/abfall--daten--indikatoren-und-karten/abfall--indikatoren/indikator-abfall.pt.html/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5kaWthdG9yZW4uYWRtaW4uY2gvUHVibG/ljL0FlbURldGFpbD9pbmQ9QUIwMDcmbG5nPWRlJlN1Ymo9Tg%3d%3d.html.
- ↵Federal Office for the Environment, ‘Indikator abfall – Auf deponien abgelagerte abfälle’, Federal Office for the Environment website, 12 November 2024, accessed 12 June 2025, https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/themen/thema-abfall/abfall--daten--indikatoren-und-karten/abfall--indikatoren/indikator-abfall.pt.html/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5kaWthdG9yZW4uYWRtaW4uY2gvUHVibG/ljL0FlbURldGFpbD9pbmQ9QUIwNDUmbG5nPWRlJlN1Ymo9Tg%3d%3d.html.
- ↵Federal Office for the Environment, ‘Indikator abfall – Separat gesammelte abfälle’, Federal Office for the Environment website, 1 November 2024, accessed 12 June 2025, https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/themen/thema-abfall/abfall--daten--indikatoren-und-karten/abfall--indikatoren/indikator-abfall.pt.html/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5kaWthdG9yZW4uYWRtaW4uY2gvUHVibG/ljL0FlbURldGFpbD9pbmQ9QUIwOTkmbG5nPWRlJlN1Ymo9Tg%3d%3d.html.
- ↵Federal Office for the Environment, ‘Indikator abfall – Recyclingquote’, Federal Office for the Environment website, 29 June 2025, accessed 12 June 2025, https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/de/home/themen/thema-abfall/abfall--daten--indikatoren-und-karten/abfall--indikatoren/indikator-abfall.pt.html/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5kaWthdG9yZW4uYWRtaW4uY2gvUHVibG/ljL0FlbURldGFpbD9pbmQ9QUIwMzEmbG5nPWRlJlN1Ymo9Tg%3d%3d.html.
- ↵Federal Office for the Environment, Abfallmengen und Recycling 2023 im Überblick, Bern, 2024, https://www.bafu.admin.ch/dam/bafu/en/dokumente/abfall/statistik/abfallmengen_und_recycling_2023_im_ueberblick.pdf.download.pdf/abfallmengen_und_recycling_2023_im_ueberblick.pdf.