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Do We Have the Right Performance Indicators for the Circular Economy?: Insight into the Swiss Waste Management

Melanie Haupt1, Carl Vadenbo1, Stefanie Hellweg1

  • 1ETH Zurich-Institute of Environmental Engineering John-von-Neumann-Weg 9, 8093 Zürich, ZH Switzerland.

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Swiss waste management recycles half of municipal solid waste (MSW). This study reveals actual recycling rates (RRs) for materials like PET, paper, and cardboard are often lower than officially reported, hiding resource recovery potential.

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circular economyclosed-loopindustrial ecologymaterial flow analysismunicipal solid wasteopen-loop

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Industrial Ecology
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Effective waste management is crucial for resource efficiency and circular economy principles.
  • Municipal solid waste (MSW) management involves material recycling and thermal treatment with energy recovery.
  • Recycling rates (RRs) are key indicators of material circulation and economic circularity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct a material flow analysis of the 2012 Swiss waste management system.
  • To investigate the recycling of specific materials (paper, cardboard, aluminum, tinplate, glass, PET) from MSW.
  • To differentiate recycling rates into closed-loop and open-loop collection rates (CR) and RRs to assess actual resource recovery.

Main Methods:

  • Material flow analysis of Swiss MSW in 2012.
  • Calculation and comparison of official versus actual recycling rates (RRs).
  • Distinction between collection rates (CR) and recycling rates (RRs) for closed-loop and open-loop recycling.

Main Results:

  • For PET, closed-loop CR was 45%, open-loop CR was 40%, with RRs of 31% and 37% respectively.
  • Official collection rates for paper and cardboard (97%) are higher than actual CRs (74% and 89%) and RRs (59% and 81%).
  • Actual recycling rates for most investigated materials are substantially lower than officially communicated rates.

Conclusions:

  • Official recycling statistics may overestimate material recovery and obscure potential for enhanced resource efficiency.
  • A more detailed analysis splitting RRs into CR and RRs is needed to accurately assess circularity.
  • There is significant untapped potential for increased resource recovery within the Swiss waste management system.