Nyon council have issued an appeal to all residents to check whether the bottles they throw in the P.E.T recycling bin really are P.E.T bottles.
A reminder that P.E.T bottles contain drinks, they are not shampoo bottles, milk bottles, detergent etc, these products can be taken back either to the supermarket/place where they were purchased (if they have a specialised collection point), or they can be thrown in the official rubbish/trash sack.
Over the last few years, the quality of recycling in the Nyon region has deteriorated resulting in extra costs for the council and more products have to be incinerated rather than recycled. A video (in French) explains the difference between the two different kinds of plastics and the importance of correct recycling. More information here on the council website.
OM says
Other communes nearby, such as Crans and Borex, recycle all plastics – does anyone know why Nyon is unable to?
When we moved here from the UK, almost 4 years ago, we were surprised by how much more we had been able to recycle there than here – we thought that Switzerland had a reputation for ‘greenness’ and for recycling………not entirely warranted it would seem.
Catherine says
Hello Olive, I think the issue is that if the plastics get lumped together and are not separated correctly then it’s harder to recycle them. The video in the post explains this. Switzerland actually sends no urban waste to landfill (as is often the case in the UK) here the waste is incinerated and turned into energy http://lenews.ch/2016/12/23/swiss-fact-switzerland-sends-no-urban-waste-to-landfill/
Franc says
Still doesn’t answer the question as to why the town doesn’t collect and recycle other plastics like other communes do.
It seems the previous Administration was more interested in installing bus lanes for busses that run around mostly empty and that increase traffic and air pollution rather than doing things to help the population. For the current Administration, it’s too early to tell.
For example: It hasn’t put in place a system of bins that make it easy for the residents to recycle. Two Examples:
1. At the Nyon Plage there are multi-coloured bins for you to separate out your paper, other trash and PET. Why aren’t these installed all over the town ? Ok, maybe not in the colours chosen for the Plage, but it would be very useful especially when there are tons of tourists (in summer, during the Brocants etc), as currently these tourists simply place all of their trash into the single waste bins that are now very hard to find and which are overflowing after a busy weekend.
2. Normal recycling facilities for the general population are horrible down in Rive. If you live there and don’t have a car, you’re going to walk a long way to do your recycling. I have heard that the reason this is like this is because certain residents in Rive will “pose opposition” to any plan to install permanent recycling points. Great.
Catherine says
Hello Franc, Thankyou for your comments. You make some good suggestions about the multi-coloured bins and that they should be installed all over the town. Why not write to the council and suggest this to them?
Living in Nyon.