Usually tourists who visited Switzerland, admire the purity of the towns and villages of the country, but rarely interested in how this is achieved.
waste sorting system, already practiced in many countries, in Switzerland, brought completely to the extreme. Almost to the point of absurdity. Sorts all that amenable to sorting.
This system does not know exceptions - all have a duty to lay out the garbage in different containers. This is a full democracy, where all participate. This is a complete lack of democracy, which draws objections and discussions are not accepted: disagree - pay a fine. This approach to waste recycling is only possible in the Confederation Helvetica. Such mentality. Everyone likes to live purely.
The fact that you are rich, does not elevate you above the law. Often you can see people alighting from a Porsche without an inferiority complex unloads the empty bottle at the point of delivery of the container.
Switzerland leads the world in the number of bottles handed - over 90% of the container is returned to the factories for recycling glass. The program for the reception and processing of used glass began in 1972 and is still being successfully implemented.
Only by returning some beer bottles to the store, you can get back your deposit. In other cases, those who pass the bottle, nothing for it do not get. But it is yet to take off the lid and sort the bottles and cans, depending on the color of the glass. White, brown, green -. Separately
Paper is processed separately from the cardboard (cardboard recycling is more expensive), so the demand from citizens to take one apart from the other. Almost a third of the printed products produced in the country, returned to collection points for recycling.
No one would never throw in the trash of used batteries. Therefore, 60% of all batteries sold in Switzerland shall be back and not thrown in the trash.
Separately shall PET bottles separately - old electrical appliances and household appliances separately - construction waste separately - fluorescent lamps separately - cans (handing over responsibility to keep compressed plate with a magnetic media) separately - dead animals (for this it is necessary to pay, but to bury them is prohibited), separately - the remnants of vegetable oil, separately - the remains of the engine oil (to change the oil in your own car is strictly forbidden - it is for you to make teh.stantsii 50 francs). From only one list is scary.
You can not do this, and throw everything in the trash can, you say. Can. But then you have to splurge on a tax that is levied on each kilogram of waste. Each garbage bag adhesive stamps evidencing the payment of tax. Throw five kilograms of garbage is 2-3 francs (price varies depending on the canton). Therefore, the majority of local residents shall be all that is possible in the reception points for recycling, where to send their old PC or an old baby carriage does not cost anything.
There is even an exaggerated example, about how to properly throw used tea bag: label - to the cardboard, bag itself - to the old paper, the tea leaves - into compost, paper clip - to use metals and thread - marked in the garbage bag. One could say that this is a joke ... .but not in Switzerland.
There were and are skilled craftsmen, trying to get rid of waste, not pasting brand. But such was found on board - garbage police. Specialists with the help of modern technologies analyze debris left in the wrong place, or without tax payment - find the offender (this is not a joke) and fined him / her. Fines are high. New Zurich newspaper wrote about the case when the person on the way to work, just throw household waste in paper bags from the car window. The police figured it.
Offender was tried and fined 6000 francs for the disposal of waste and cleaning of trails, 3,000 francs for violating the law and 530 francs ship costs. Total 9530 francs for the trick! This is a very severe punishment, according to Swiss standards, because each one thinks lovingly Rapp. Such is the mentality.
In the 80s, when the garbage marking was introduced only in the south-east of the country, it began to spread the phenomenon of so-called junk tourism. On weekends, people took their families slaughtered racks accumulated waste per week and went to another part of the country for a picnic. And across the country traveled and debris thrown free. Only in Zurich was carted over 3,000 tons of "illegal" bags with waste per day. Therefore, all cantons and communities had to impose duty on waste.
Even in the 80 years of the twentieth century, the environmental situation in Switzerland was catastrophic - all the rivers and lakes are polluted with phosphates and nitrates, earth - heavy metals, biodiversity is rapidly declining, and growing consumer society produces a huge amount of debris. Very soon the people began to choke on his own trash, industrial and agricultural pollution. On such a small area was not large areas, to be able to reset the waste and forget about them.
It was then that there was a question of a new generation of environmental policy, which began with the pedantry embody. It took two decades, but the result exceeded all expectations. Switzerland now - one of the cleanest countries in the world, with well-developed public transport and clean mountain air. From any of the lake and, of course, from the tap, you can safely drink the water.
What is the reason for this success? The reason is that the state - is they are. Swiss entrusted himself to remove his own country, and succeeded. The rest was just a matter of time.
The conclusion is simple ... people want - people do! I will lay this message to friends, and organize together environmental groups, who follow at least for their garbage.
Lazy? I see! But even more do not want to live in the garbage. So we act!