Switzerland is a country of ideal cleanliness; waste sorting in this country is a whole philosophy brought to perfection. Let's look at how they managed to do this?
In the 80s of the twentieth century, the environmental situation in Switzerland was catastrophic - all rivers and lakes were polluted with phosphates and nitrates - heavy metals, it was rapidly decreasing, and the growing consumer society produced a huge amount of garbage. Very soon, residents began to choke on their own garbage, industrial and agricultural pollution. In such a small area there were no large areas to dump waste and forget about it. I had to take action...
First reforms - garbage tourism
First, in one of the regions they decided to introduce a tax on garbage, and the so-called “garbage labeling” was introduced. A stamp indicating payment of the tax is affixed to each garbage bag. Throwing away five kilograms of garbage costs 2-3 francs (price varies depending on the region). Therefore, most local residents take everything they can to recycling centers, where it costs nothing to give away an old computer or an old baby stroller. But many people, in order to avoid paying taxes, began to take out garbage to other regions. The phenomenon of so-called garbage tourism has begun to spread. On weekends, people took their families, filled their trunks with the waste accumulated over the week, and drove to another part of the country for a picnic. And they traveled around the country and threw away garbage for free. Over 3,000 tons of “illegal” bags of waste were transported to Zurich alone per day. Therefore, all cantons and communities had to introduce a tax on garbage. 
Then the garbage police showed up. Specialists, using modern technologies, analyze garbage left in the wrong place or without paying taxes - they find the violator (this is not a joke) and fine him/her. The fines are high. The New Zurich newspaper wrote about a case when a man, on the way to work, simply threw household garbage in paper bags out of the car window. The police tracked him down.
The violator was tried and fined: 6,000 francs for waste disposal and cleaning the route, 3,000 francs for breaking the law and 530 francs for court costs. Total, 9530 francs for the trick! This is a very cruel punishment by Swiss standards, as everyone lovingly counts each rappen. That's the mentality.
After this, the tedious process of waste separation began, which evolved over about two decades.
Waste sorting system in Switzerland
Here is an exaggerated example of how to properly throw away a used tea bag: the label - to the cardboard, the bag itself - to the old paper, the tea leaves - to the compost, the paper clip - to the used metal, and the thread - to the marked garbage bag. One could say that this is a joke... but not in Switzerland.
Switzerland leads the world in the number of bottles returned - more than 90% of containers are returned to glass recycling plants. The program for the acceptance and recycling of used glass began in 1972 and is still being successfully implemented.
Only by returning some beer bottles to the store can you get your deposit back. In other cases, those who hand over bottles do not receive anything for it. But at the same time, they still have to remove the caps and sort the bottles and jars depending on the color of the glass. White, brown, green - separately.
It is processed separately from cardboard (cardboard recycling is more expensive), so citizens are required to return one separately from the other. Almost a third of printed products produced in the country are returned to recycling centers. 
No one would think of throwing used batteries in the trash. Therefore, 60% of all batteries sold in Switzerland are returned and not thrown into the bin.
PET bottles are handed over separately, old electrical appliances and household appliances are handed over separately, construction waste is handed over separately, fluorescent lamps are handed over separately, tin cans are handed over separately (those who hand them in are required to independently compress the tin using a magnetic press), animal corpses are handed over separately (for this you have to pay pay, but it is prohibited to bury them), separately - the remains of vegetable oil, separately - the remains of machine oil (it is strictly forbidden to change the oil in your own car - this will be done for you at a technical station for 50 francs). The list alone becomes scary.
Everyone is equal before the law
This system knows no exceptions - everyone is required to put garbage in different containers. This is a complete democracy where everyone participates. And this is a complete absence of democracy, where no one’s objections and discussions are accepted: if you don’t agree, pay a fine. Such an approach to waste disposal is only possible in the Helvetica Confederation. That's the mentality. Everyone likes to live clean.The fact that you are rich does not elevate you above the law. You can often see citizens disembarking from a Porsche and, without an inferiority complex, unloading empty bottles at the container delivery point.
Switzerland is now one of the countries with developed public transport and clean mountain air. You can safely drink water from any lake and, of course, from the tap. 
But the main reason for this success is considered to be not high fines and fear of the garbage police, but the consciousness of citizens. After all, if everyone around you regularly sorts garbage, then you won’t be able to live any other way.
Our waste sorting is still in its infancy, and let this country become an example and inspiration for us.
Based on sources
Typically, tourists who have visited Switzerland admire the cleanliness of the country's cities and villages, but are rarely interested in how this is achieved.
The waste sorting system, already practiced in many countries around the world, has been taken absolutely to the extreme in Switzerland. Almost to the point of absurdity. They sort everything that can be sorted.
This system knows no exceptions - everyone is required to put garbage in different containers. This is a complete democracy where everyone participates. And this is a complete absence of democracy, where no one’s objections and discussions are accepted: if you don’t agree, pay a fine. Such an approach to waste disposal is only possible in the Helvetica Confederation. That's the mentality. Everyone likes to live clean.
The fact that you are rich does not elevate you above the law. You can often see citizens disembarking from a Porsche and, without an inferiority complex, unloading empty bottles at the container delivery point.
Switzerland leads the world in the number of bottles returned - more than 90% of containers are returned to glass recycling plants. The program for the acceptance and recycling of used glass began in 1972 and is still being successfully implemented.
Only by returning some beer bottles to the store can you get your deposit back. In other cases, those who hand over bottles do not receive anything for it. But at the same time, they still have to remove the caps and sort the bottles and jars depending on the color of the glass. White, brown, green - separately.
Paper is recycled separately from cardboard (cardboard recycling is more expensive), so citizens are required to return one separately from the other. Almost a third of printed products produced in the country are returned to recycling centers.
No one would think of throwing used batteries in the trash. Therefore, 60% of all batteries sold in Switzerland are returned and not thrown into the bin.
PET bottles are handed over separately, old electrical appliances and household appliances are handed over separately, construction waste is handed over separately, fluorescent lamps are handed over separately, tin cans are handed over separately (those who hand them in are required to press the tin themselves using a magnetic press), animal corpses are handed over separately (for this you have to pay, but it is prohibited to bury them), separately - the remains of vegetable oil, separately - the remains of machine oil (it is strictly forbidden to change the oil in your own car - this will be done for you at a technical station for 50 francs). The list alone becomes scary.
You don’t have to do this, but throw everything in the trash bin, you say. Can. But then you will have to go broke on the tax that is levied on every kilogram of waste. A stamp indicating payment of the tax is affixed to each garbage bag. Throwing away five kilograms of garbage costs 2-3 francs (price varies depending on the canton). Therefore, most local residents take everything they can to recycling centers, where it costs nothing to give away an old computer or an old baby stroller.
There is even an exaggerated example of how to properly throw away a used tea bag: the label goes to the cardboard, the bag itself goes to the old paper, the tea leaves go to the compost, the paper clip goes to the used metal, and the thread goes to the marked trash bag. One could say that this is a joke... but not in Switzerland.
There were and are craftsmen who are trying to get rid of waste without labeling it. But even these people had a handle on them—the garbage police. Specialists, using modern technologies, analyze garbage left in the wrong place or without paying taxes - they find the violator (this is not a joke) and fine him/her. The fines are high. The New Zurich newspaper wrote about a case when a man, on the way to work, simply threw household garbage in paper bags out of the car window. The police tracked him down.
The violator was tried and fined: 6,000 francs for waste disposal and cleaning the route, 3,000 francs for breaking the law and 530 francs for court costs. Total, 9530 francs for the trick! This is a very cruel punishment by Swiss standards, as everyone lovingly counts each rappen. That's the mentality.
In the 80s, when garbage labeling was introduced only in the southeast of the country, the phenomenon of so-called garbage tourism began to spread. On weekends, people took their families, filled their trunks with the waste accumulated over the week, and drove to another part of the country for a picnic. And they traveled around the country and threw away garbage for free. Over 3,000 tons of “illegal” bags of waste were transported to Zurich alone per day. Therefore, all cantons and communities had to introduce a tax on garbage.
Back in the 80s of the twentieth century, the environmental situation in Switzerland was catastrophic - all rivers and lakes were polluted with phosphates and nitrates - heavy metals, it was rapidly decreasing, and the growing consumer society produced a huge amount of garbage. Very soon, residents began to choke on their own garbage, industrial and agricultural pollution. In such a small area there were no large areas to dump waste and forget about it.
It was then that the question arose of developing a new environmental policy, which they began to implement with pedantry. It took two decades, but the result exceeded all expectations. Switzerland is now one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world, with developed public transport and clean mountain air. You can safely drink water from any lake and, of course, from the tap.
What is the reason for this success? The reason is that they are the state. The Swiss set themselves the task of cleaning up their own country, and they succeeded. The rest was just a matter of time.
The conclusion is simple... people wanted it - people did it!
If you liked this material, then we offer you a selection of the best materials on our site according to our readers. You can find a selection of TOP interesting facts and important news from around the world and about various important events where it is most convenient for youEven in the picturesque valleys of the Alps you can find a trash can with garbage spilling out of it. Director of PromIndustriya LLC Nikolay Atlasov talks about what Swiss residents do with waste, why recycling has priority over incineration, and why the Swiss store garbage cans underground.
“SHOULD WE SAVE THE ALPS?!”
I remember how in my youth I read the book “Save the Alps” by the Austrian journalist Leopold Lukshanderl. It described how, since the 1950s, the active invasion of the Alpine region by mass tourism began to negatively affect the local landscape. A large number of ski resorts with numerous hotels and restaurants, many roads and bridges were built. All this made the Alps easily accessible. But along with the benefits of civilization, its vices also came here: a violation of the ecological balance, man-made accidents, awkward urban architecture that does not fit into the surrounding mountainous landscape. Lukshanderl particularly sharply criticized the nature of the development of the Alps by the French, where, according to him, anthropogenic impact was carried out in the most destructive forms. And the Swiss received the greatest praise. The contrast between these two peoples was manifested in many ways, including in architecture. If the French in the 1960s - 1970s actively built multi-storey hotels made of glass and concrete in the Alps, which were sharply dissonant with the mountain landscape, then the Swiss, on the contrary, preferred to build low hotels in the form of chalets, which not only resembled traditional architecture, but also fit harmoniously into the surrounding space. Against this background, the French scale caused irritation, while the Swiss moderation caused respect.
Most mountain valleys and gorges in Switzerland are cut through by highways
But in the book I was also impressed by the descriptions and photographs of mountain hotels around which garbage dumps were formed. This did not correspond to the usual idea of Europe as an oasis of purity. True, the Europeans very quickly came to their senses and began to put their places of residence and recreation in order. And this especially applies to Switzerland, a country considered exemplary in many respects, including in the area of cleanliness.
The Rhone River is one of the largest rivers in France, originating in the glaciers of the Swiss Alps
Cleanliness in Switzerland — This is not only the result of high culture, but also a consequence of strict policies aimed at preserving and strengthening environmental safety. Swiss standards in this area are much stricter than those in the European Union as a whole. Fortunately, Switzerland is not part of it, maintaining independence from the Brussels bureaucracy, which has lately been prone to numerous manifestations of voluntarism. At the same time, the Alpine Republic, through various agreements, enjoys many of the benefits of European integration. For example, benefiting from joining the Schengen area, Switzerland, not being a member of the European Union, does not accept illegal migrants on its territory, whom the European Commission is trying to disperse across countries — EU members based on approved quotas. This allows her to maintain her purity, literally and figuratively.
Andermatt (canton of Uri) is a typical town in the Swiss mountains
THE SMALLER THE COUNTRY, THE MORE RATIONALLY THE SPACE IS DEVELOPED
It is possible that the Swiss culture of cleanliness was largely formed under the influence of the surrounding space. For many centuries, most of these people have lived in numerous villages and small towns scattered across mountain valleys and plains. There are not many large cities, and they are considered large only by Swiss standards. The life of most Swiss people is closely connected with nature, fortunately it is very beautiful here. Most likely, this had a noticeable impact on the formation of a caring attitude towards nature.
Many of us remember from Soviet times the famous slogan calling for cleanliness in public places: “Clean not where they clean, but where they don’t litter!” All this is true. However, this slogan, quite appropriate in the context of improving the general culture of citizens, nevertheless does not reflect the full depth of the problem. You can teach a person not to litter, but this will not save us from waste with which we need to do something.
An example of a Swiss visual campaign calling for the preservation of the purity of nature (Locarno, canton of Ticino)
It has long been known that space greatly influences the thinking and behavior of people. The less it is, the more rationally a person strives to use it. Speaking in the context of European culture, the smaller the country, the more rationally and efficiently its space has been developed. Everything here is thought out, or, as some Russians say, everything is done like the people and for the people. The breadth of Russian space creates a different culture of its development, less rational and more extensive, fortunately there is a lot of land, but there is somewhere to bury the same garbage.
Switzerland is a small country, only 41.3 thousand square meters. km (this is two-thirds of the territory of Tatarstan), of which 61% is occupied by mountains. They also once buried garbage here, but then they came to their senses. And in 2000, a ban on the creation of landfills and burial of waste in the ground was introduced throughout the country. Life told me what to do with waste. They decided to recycle them, including through the active use of separate waste collection technology, and burn what cannot be recycled.
The issue of building a waste incineration plant is currently being actively discussed in Kazan. At the same time, our authorities, who are pushing this idea, prefer to avoid discussing the topic of introducing separate waste collection and increasing the level of waste recycling. In Switzerland, waste recycling has priority over waste incineration. According to official statistics, in 2015, 54% of all waste generated in the country was recycled and only less than half was incinerated. Moreover, the growth rate of waste recycling is quite noticeable, since back in 2009 only 30% of waste was recycled.
Lugano is the largest city in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino (view from Monte Bre)
IN SWITZERLAND, GARBAGE IS COLLECTED IN 10 FRACTIONS
Separate waste collection in Switzerland is an almost mandatory procedure. Why practically? Because citizens retain a certain freedom of choice, conditioned by the culture of democracy, which implies the possibility of not sorting garbage provided they use special containers, which are sold at a higher price. The higher price is the fee for the work of the sorter, who will sort your garbage at a special sorting station.
However, as far as I know, not all Swiss cantons practice such freedom of choice. In some places, separate waste collection is mandatory without any conditions. The situation in hotels varies: some have several containers for different waste fractions, while others allow unsorted garbage. Probably, in the latter case, hotels themselves pay for sorting, including these costs in the cost of their services.
From the point of view of a Russian, separate waste collection in Switzerland is taken to the extreme, since there the number of fractions exceeds 10. The same old clothes cannot simply be thrown away, but must be put in a special container at a sorting station (some types of household waste must be taken out only to sorting stations). stations).
Street containers in Switzerland are special. Made of metal, they consist of two parts - a receiving compartment equipped with a foot pedal to open the lid, as well as a storage compartment connected to it, which is buried in the ground. At a certain time, a vehicle arrives, which, using a crane, lifts the entire container and unloads its contents into a compartment intended for a specific type of waste. The container is then returned to its place. The fact that the storage compartment is located underground is quite reasonable, since with this design the garbage does not fall on the surface of the earth and is generally excluded from view. True, if you come close to a container with food waste, you can still smell a slight smell.
Containers for separate waste collection on one of the streets of Lugano
Switzerland deservedly has the reputation of being one of the cleanest countries in the world. However, sometimes even in this country you can come across “spots” of dirt. Somehow I accidentally came across such a “spot” in the town of Bellinzona, the capital of the canton of Ticino. This town is located in a narrow picturesque valley, across which runs a medieval wall. In ancient times, it served a defensive function and served as a customs border. Now on the upper tier of this wall there is a walking area. And it was here that I suddenly saw a trash can overflowing with garbage, next to which there were also many bottles and packaging lying around. This urn looked very unusual against the backdrop of a sleek landscape and gave rise to a strange feeling, similar to when, looking at a woman with impeccable makeup, you suddenly notice a slight flaw on her face.
A trash can overflowing with garbage, next to which there were also many bottles and packaging lying around, looked unusual against the backdrop of the licked landscape
Nikolay Atlasov
BUSINESS Online report from Lucerne: is sorting really necessary and what will happen if you throw a gas cylinder into a three-story flame. Part 2
“Before, 30 years ago, they told us: “Oh, just further away, away from us,” recalls the director of the “garbage oven” in Lucerne as a legend, wondering how anyone could be afraid of it. The plant burns down everything that the respectable and not-so-respectable burghers want to throw into the trash. And the entire Swiss sorting system is nothing more than a tribute to the capitalists; the environmental effect could have been achieved without it. About how the MSZ works in Switzerland, see the BUSINESS Online report.
The Renergia plant is new, operating since 2015, built in the Perlen industrial zone - near Lucerne
“THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO THROW EVERYTHING OUT, BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER – WE BURN EVERYTHING”
The day before, we examined the waste separation system adopted in Switzerland. Now it’s the turn of the crown of this chain – the waste incineration plant, where the life cycle of what is not recycled ends.
The enterprise, where a delegation from the Republic of Tatarstan visited at the invitation of AGK-2, was built in the Perlen industrial zone - not far from Lucerne. “Industrial zone” is a loud name. In fact, nearby are farm fields and villages where over 5 thousand people live, as well as the Roiscanal canal, in the depths of which you can even see stones. The Renergia plant is new, it has been operating since 2015, says the director of the enterprise Rudy Kummer. The main task is to provide the paper mill Perlen Papier AG, which is a shareholder of the MSZ and is located next door, with cheap steam and electricity. So the factory became one of the main investors in the “garbage oven”. This allows you to save a lot on heating oil - previously they used 40 thousand tons of fuel oil per year, but now they also pay extra for each ton of waste burned. And a ton of garbage in terms of calorific value is the same as 300 liters of oil. The output is 700 kWh of electricity.
Near the MSZ there are farm fields and villages where over 5 thousand people live
“Our plant is located in the center of the area where the waste comes from, which significantly reduces transportation routes,” noted Kummer. “In Moscow, as far as I know, no one follows such an experience...”
The total investment volume is 300 million Swiss francs, which is equivalent to approximately 19 billion rubles. Kummer did not disclose the amount of profit, but noted that annually he manages to “recapture” 15 million francs from bank loans (200 million were taken out). Let us recall that the cost of the incinerator plant in Tatarstan is 28 billion rubles. Where does the difference come from? The plant in Lucerne has half the capacity: 200 thousand tons of waste versus 550 thousand tons in Tatarstan.
Rudi Kummer did not hide: both the authorities and the population experienced great skepticism as soon as the company announced plans to build an MSZ
Kummer did not hide: both the authorities and the population experienced great skepticism as soon as the company announced plans to build an incineration plant. However, investors assured that there would be no problems: “You will see us, but not feel us.” There is not even smoke from the chimney - except in winter, when it is cold, something will be visible due to the banal condensation of water vapor. It goes without saying that the local burghers didn’t really believe the words - and went to neighboring factories. Having visited the newly built incinerator plant in Thun, they were convinced of its safety. So there were no disputes or scandals, especially since hot water in people’s homes is now heated here. However, it was easier for the burghers to come to terms with it - the Swiss have been using waste incineration technology since 1904, and the incineration plant, which uses the old technology, has operated in Lucerne since 1971, but has now closed.
“Today we received a request to burn 180 tons of artificial football turf. Hospital waste comes in. Old Adidas collections are being thrown away. I don’t know about you in Russia, but here the police have a negative attitude towards smoking marijuana - and we destroy the mown crops of cannabis... And once we burned 200 tons of chicken, which came from abroad and could be dangerous. There are people who are strict about sorting. And there are people who don’t care, and they throw everything away. Accordingly, they pay more, but for us it doesn’t matter.”
Trucks constantly enter the huge reception hall. Behind the gate is a huge bunker
BRANCH OF HELL: THREE-STORY FLAME AND RESPONSIBILITY OF WASTE SORTERS
Finally we stand in a huge reception hall, where trucks constantly roll in. The gates open, behind them is a bunker with thousands of tons of waste. From somewhere from top to bottom comes the predatory steel daisy of a grab crane, which bites into the garbage heap, lifting it upward. Clouds of dust rise into the air. And behind Kummer there is a veil of garbage fog, which still remains outside the goal. You can no longer see anything inside - just a haze. But the reduced atmospheric pressure in the receiving bunker locks everything that is there - neither odors nor dust come out.
From somewhere from top to bottom comes a predatory steel daisy of a grab crane, which bites into the garbage heap, lifting it up
There is no longer any pre-sorting at the plant. Garbage comes from waste sorting stations, and the quality of future fuel is their responsibility. If in this stream there is something that should not be there - for example, steel baths, logs and other large items - the waste supplier may be fined. These are the terms of the contract with MSZ.
Every hour, 12.5 tons of waste are loaded from these bunkers into the shredder-grinder, which is ground into a fine fraction. The grinder operates automatically. Only occasionally does the operator stop the cranes - if something is noticed that should not be in the garbage. And then, from this “fuel” bunker, thanks to the rotation of a screw pusher, somewhat reminiscent of a shaft inside a meat grinder, the garbage goes into the furnaces of the plant’s two boilers.
Kummer opens the damper - and through the glass a real “branch of hell” is visible: tongues of flame soar to the height of a two-three-story building, scattering red-hot scraps around. Some pieces of iron are sticking out. “We will then sell them for scrap metal,” notes the director.
The garbage on the grate burns for about two hours. The combustion temperature in the furnace is approximately 1000–1200 degrees. The system evenly supplies fuel to the combustion center - this ensures low emissions of harmful substances, says Kummer. Flue gases give off their heat to water, turning it into steam - the turbine operates, electricity is generated. And the cooled gases go into the gas cleaning system.
What does the plant burn? Everything that is subject to destruction. Glass, paper, metals, and cardboard are removed from the garbage. And, in principle, the installation is suitable for recycling any type of waste
“IF SUCH PLANTS WERE HARMFUL, WE ALL WOULD DIE ALREADY”
According to Hans-Peter Fahrny, former head of waste management at the Swiss federal environmental authority, the largest source of dioxins in the country is, in principle, waste burning in bonfires. In addition, metallurgical production and chemical synthesis enterprises (an industry well known to Kazan) contribute their share to their emissions. As for the incineration plant, all three dozen factories in the country emit 2–3 grams of dioxins annually. Let us remind you that the entire territory of Switzerland is 41 thousand square meters. km with a population of 8.3 million people (Tatarstan - 68 thousand sq. km).
The volume of harmful substances emitted by the Lucerne plant was compared by its director to a glass dumped into Lake Baikal. He is generally a cheerful person: demonstrating what they find in the slag after a garbage furnace, Kummer lightly put his hands into it, dug into it, demonstrating to journalists. He pulled out from the pile either an electric motor, or a plug, or some kind of chain. I couldn’t help but remember horror movies: the slag from the MSZ is a nightmare, it’s carcinogens, cancer and death...
Kummer, however, just shrugged, showing pieces of slag in his palm. “We grew up with this. It is even difficult for us to understand why people have such fear of such factories. I’ve been working at such factories for 30 years, I probably should have been dead a long time ago... Previously, 30 years ago, they told us: “Oh, just further away, away from us.” And today people say: “Install such an installation even in the middle of the city, where there are energy consumers.” After all, the volume of harmful emissions is reduced compared to the use of fuel oil. There are such installations in Zurich, and I am not aware of people having health problems in the area. In Paris, Vienna, Copenhagen, Nuremberg, Amsterdam, Milan - right in the middle of the city. Why not in Kazan? If they were as harmful as rumor goes, then probably everyone around would have died already,” he marveled.
In Switzerland, slag is buried in landfills or sold to places where it is in demand for road construction - in Germany, Poland
The most striking thing in the pile of “exhibition” slag was the gas cylinder and the cast iron keel from the yacht. How they got into the oven after a careful sorting system is a big mystery! The slag itself, by the way, spills out into the open after the grate. But dust - that same harmful ash - is really dangerous. In Switzerland, slag is buried in landfills or sold to places where it is in demand for road construction - in Germany and Poland. But the ash is buried - according to Hans-Peter Fahrni, it is taken to the salt mines of Germany. The famous Halbronn! But now they have learned to neutralize ash by extracting valuable metals from it. So now it is mixed with the same slag...
The total investment in the MSZ is 300 million Swiss francs, which is equivalent to approximately 19 billion rubles. The amount of profit is not disclosed
“REPLACEMENT OF FILTERS? FOR WHAT?!"
The most interesting thing is the gas cleaning system. As it turned out, since the plant was launched, the filters have not been changed even once - why? They are self-cleaning. But they are still checked every year - for this, Hitachi Zoccen Inova specialists stop the factory. Since 2015, the filter sleeves have been damaged twice – a couple of them. But sensors recorded an increase in dust concentration. If the standards are exceeded for four hours, the plant shuts down, so they are simply replaced.
There are 5 gas purification systems at the MSZ in Lucerne. The first is an electrostatic filter. It serves to retain dust from flue gases. Sodium bicarbonate is used to separate acidic substances, as well as lignite coke injection to separate mercury and precipitate dioxins. Bag filters again retain dust, and the catalytic converter eliminates the remaining nitrogen oxides.
And here's a surprise: in Tatarstan there will be only three stages of cleanup. As explained to BUSINESS Online by Hitachi Zoccen Inova representative Marius Waldner, all factories are different. The composition of the equipment depends on the purpose of the plant and the environmental standards of the country. In Switzerland, the standards are stricter than in the European Union, and the Kazan plant must comply with EU and Russian standards. The Kazan project does not have an electrostatic filter. Technologically, the electric precipitator in our system is superfluous, since the plant is used to generate electricity, and this filter consumes a lot of electricity. There is also no catalytic filter - in the Kazan project it is replaced by a non-catalytic reduction system (injection of urea and activated carbon). The catalyst is necessary for fine purification of nitrogen oxide emissions, which is not required by EU standards. Even in Lucerne it is taken with a “reserve”, making it possible to improve the purification of nitrogen oxides several times compared to the standards. But its disadvantage is extremely difficult disposal and enormous cost. From the point of view of dioxin emissions, all systems provide reliable filtration, not to mention the fact that the combustion temperature itself serves as a way to neutralize them.
There are 5 gas purification systems at the MSZ in Lucerne
A three-stage system was used in Newhaven (UK). The plant in Liberec, Czech Republic, has two stages - an electrostatic precipitator and a non-catalytic reduction system, as well as an emergency bypass. The plant in the British Riverside, which in AGK-1 is a complete analogue of the Kazan one, has the same three stages of purification. So there are examples – and working examples – in the world.
But let's return to Lucerne. If you go to the very top, to the chimneys, you understand: they are... plastic. The temperature of the exhaust gases is only 80 degrees. There is no smoke, and Kummer demonstrates that the plant is working with a piece of paper thrown over the chimney - it is immediately carried upward. The shadow from the hot air is still visible. And it's all...
Local farmers - and we talked to the 31-year-old Balthasar Petermann- They don’t see any problems. Yes, there were certainly concerns, he says, glancing at his son, dangling his legs on the high seat of the tractor. But after a trip to the city of Thun, where an incinerator plant was also built, these fears of the neighbors were dispelled. And the farmer is not afraid for the child, nor for the fields with rapeseed and corn, nor for the horses and goats. Sometimes - very rarely - he smells faint odors of garbage, but that's probably all.
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To summarize the results of our trip to Switzerland, the conclusion suggests itself: the Swiss, with their waste collection system, seem to have demonstrated a clear implementation of Karl Marx’s famous expression about capitalist greed. Only, of course, in my own understanding. Remember? The famous Marxist theorist said that there is no crime that a capitalist will not commit for the sake of 300 percent profit. So: there is no incentive that a capitalist could not come up with to force the population to bring him raw materials for free.
Garbage is not something that should pollute the environment, say Swiss experts. Garbage is valuable. This means that it must be obtained somehow. If you lump everything into one pile, no amount of sorting will allow you to extract the most useful information from it. At best - 10%. This means that all conditions must be created for the citizens themselves to do this. For this purpose, a system of fines and payment for garbage collection has been invented: if you want to throw away a 5 kg bag, pay 2-3 francs. If you don’t want to pay, here are sorting points where a lucky citizen can get rid of valuable waste for free! And then the capitalists, having accepted for money what cannot be recycled, will turn this garbage into steam and electricity.
Meanwhile, everything that the Swiss do can burn perfectly in the oven. Look at the fractions of garbage that are extracted from there! PAT? Batteries? Machine oil? Lamps? Perhaps only these factions can really be dangerous. Everything else - wood, paper and cardboard, bottles, pieces of concrete, metals - are raw materials. Money is for the capitalist, not for the resident.
Truly, everything is like in the famous Russian joke about how to force a cat to maintain hygiene. You can beat her, you can not feed her, you can coax her or play Mozart’s music. But wouldn't it be easier to spread mustard under the tail? The cat will immediately do what you wanted! This is what Swiss capitalists seem to have done with garbage. And ecology and getting rid of landfills is a pleasant and necessary bonus for the Alpine country, which allows you to feel like a civilized nation in Europe, the cleanest country in the world, and a tribute to other image matters.
One of the things that bothers me in Russia after living abroad for a short time is the attitude towards garbage. Not only is it customary in our homeland to throw it away wherever we want, but there is almost no culture of recycling it. This not only pollutes the environment, but also causes enormous harm to the economy.
It is very pleasant that in the last couple of years, initiatives have begun to appear on separate waste collection, the introduction of environmentally friendly packaging, etc. But we are still only at the very beginning of the journey. There are still stinking garbage chutes in our entrances, and landfills are a cruel mess.
From this point of view, Switzerland is a clinical example: the country is moving by leaps and bounds towards the complete recycling of all waste. Of course, this is not cheap and imposes a huge number of responsibilities on each person. Today’s important post is about how this works from the point of view of a simple man in the street who wants to keep his home and his country clean.
First the foreplay. Since 2000, Switzerland has completely banned the organization of landfills on its territory. Given the lack of suitable land, this was the only possible solution, and therefore only two options remained: either recycle the waste or incinerate it. The organization of collection and recycling was handed over to private companies, which helped Switzerland in a short period of time become one of the leaders in waste disposal in Europe. In 2009, just over 30% of garbage was recycled, and today - more than 50%. However, for certain groups this figure can reach 80%.
On the graph: Landfilled - landfills; Incinerated with energy recovery - combustion to produce energy; Recycled - recycling.
Many tourists who rented apartments in Europe have already encountered the need to sort garbage. As a rule, these are standard paper-plastic-glass-other. However, if you live in the country permanently, then you will definitely have a lot of more interesting waste. The rules for separate waste collection are communicated to all citizens with Swiss precision. When you move into a new apartment, you immediately receive a booklet in the mail about what needs to be thrown away and where. The number of categories is about fifty.
Every self-respecting citizen has several containers at home for various waste. You can buy them at any store, including your local IKEA. We accumulate paper and plastic bottles in them.
In separate boxes we store batteries, fuses, bottle caps, glass, clothes, and so on - more details to come. And all the garbage that you can’t or are too lazy to sort must be put in a special bag, which is sold in stores at a price of 2 francs per piece (about 75 rubles). This money goes towards further sorting and recycling of waste from these bags.
If you do not use such packages, then you will face a significant fine - according to rumors, it can reach up to 10,000 francs. In the German-speaking part of the country, stories are especially popular that a special “garbage detective” tracked the offender using a scrap of letter, an invoice or a box from an online store. In the French part where we live, such rigidity is not observed.
These white bags, paper, glass and organic waste can be thrown into the trash near your home. Everyone in their own tank.
Pay attention to the design - the tanks themselves are underground. When the washing machine arrives, it simply grabs the bin by the “handle” and dumps the bags into a large container without any strain or stink. The process is controlled by just one person using a large remote control.
Anything that cannot be thrown away near your home must be delivered to special collection points on your own. As a rule, near large supermarkets you can get rid of plastic bottles, batteries, light bulbs, CDs, packaging of household chemicals, and milk cartons.
If you wish, you can even buy yourself sorting baskets in the same store:
Everything that cannot be thrown away near the store, and if you don’t want to pay for bags, can be taken to a landfill (more precisely, a collection point, but for simplicity we will say “landfill”). This is if you are lucky and there is such a landfill in your commune. And if you’re unlucky, you’ll only be able to throw out certain things on certain days, when a special machine will drive around the commune and collect them. You will also receive the schedule by mail.
For example, after the New Year, everyone was informed that Christmas trees would be collected strictly on January 7th. Of course, you don’t have to throw it away, but in this case you’ll have to take the tree to the landfill yourself, filling the whole car with needles.
You can't just end up in a landfill. To do this, you need to obtain an electronic pass from the local administration, which is issued only to residents of the commune who have paid the tax (it seems about 80 francs per year, or around 3,000 rubles). Of course, the landfill also works at strictly defined hours.
If you come on the weekend, you will even have to stand in line and wait - there are so many people who want to throw away their garbage separately.
We stop by the landfill - no stench, no garbage underfoot. Everything is clean and organized like clockwork.
We immediately come across containers for old clothes. Moreover, there are containers where textiles are thrown for recycling...
And there are separate containers for clothes and shoes, which will be used to help the homeless or people in need. They say "Thank you very much."
We go into the first hangar we come across - and already here we feel dizzy from the number of categories.
From what is in this room: standard batteries, fluorescent lamp starters and plug fuses...
Light bulbs with detailed instructions, which one goes where...
Plastic milk bottles...
At the same time, plastic bottle caps are separate.
Corner for CDs, video cassettes and even floppy disks.
Bread (!) This is for those who are not too lazy to throw it into organic waste.
Toys (!!)... Unfortunately, I don’t know what they do with them.
Along the wall there is a whole rack of things that someone simply didn’t need, and you can take them with you. There are mainly books and mugs here.
It's even funnier in the adjacent hangar. Here you need to throw away old electronics and household appliances. Moreover, it also needs to be sorted into different containers - electric kettles separately from monitors.
Even for wires, there are two different boxes - one for power cables, and the other for all sorts of adapters.
You can no longer take these things with you.
Another nook for all kinds of chemicals. Paints, car batteries, medicines.
Let's take a walk down the street. There's a whole tank of Nespresso coffee capsules here. Tell me, how many of you threw them in regular trash? But they decompose very poorly.
Tanks for glass. There are three of them: for white, brown and green. And the green boxes in front are for metal lids, wine stoppers and something else.
Paper separately, cardboard separately.
And bags from the supermarket, which look so much like paper, are also separate.
You can’t just pick up furniture and take it outside. It must be brought to a landfill, disassembled, broken if possible and thrown into a special container.
Container for metal:
And Christmas trees.
Construction waste, of course, must also be brought to the landfill yourself.
Different types of oil - vegetable and machine.
Already assembled packages to be sent for further processing.
This is what the waste collection bins look like from the other side. From the standing car you can imagine their scale.
And all this, I repeat, is very clean, neat and does not at all resemble the garbage dump familiar to residents of many countries.
In general, the level of development of a state can be easily determined by its attitude towards garbage. This can be seen in the graph at the very beginning of the post, and in photographs from many developing countries, where streets and rivers have been turned into landfills. In Switzerland, the culture of collecting garbage is instilled from school - children write tests with problems like “where to throw away polystyrene foam” and “how to walk the dog.”
Of course, such a large number of rules may seem absurd. Moreover, many people will perceive such prohibitions as an encroachment on their constitutional rights and freedoms. Exactly the same as what happens with paid parking in the center of Moscow. However, we still have to come to this someday if we want to make our cities cleaner and our resources a little more renewable.
You can start small. It is not necessary to give money to save polar bears or throw paint on those who wear fur. It is enough to simply put the dead batteries in a small box, and then take them to collection points, which are gradually appearing in large cities. It's not as difficult as it seems.
In Switzerland, even dogs know this.
P.S. Considering the large number of questions in the comments, I will clarify once again - there is no coercion or genocide. Most people do only basic paper-plastic-glass-other sorting and throw the lion's share of waste into paid bags. Everything above is a voluntary event.
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