Incentive

The Verein PET-Recycling Schweiz was founded in 1990 and has been engaged in collecting PET drink bottles since the Beverage Container Ordinance (BCO) came into effect. Today it provides a disposal network for PET drink bottles throughout Switzerland. Ninety-eight per cent of Swiss beverage producers, importers, fillers, and retailers are meanwhile members of the collection system run by the industry organisation PET-Recycling Schweiz.
However, recycling is only successful if the collected and reprocessed material returns into circulation. The empty PET drink bottles are therefore processed into clean, high-quality, and food-safe material: Swiss Recycling PET (R-PET). This valuable resource is used to manufacture new Swiss PET drink bottles. As a result, the material cycle is closed (bottle to bottle) and recycling back into circulation truly takes place. According to the study by Carbotech, recycling in a closed cycle is 2.4 times more environmentally friendly than conventional recycling for one-time reuse.

Outcome

The label
- provides a uniform seal of quality which confirms that the R-PET used is a purely Swiss product, whose entire manufacturing process – from collection through sorting to use – takes place in Switzerland;
- is awarded exclusively to members of PET-Recycling Schweiz;
- is awarded exclusively for PET drink bottles with a Swiss R-PET component (no other packaging made from PET);
- indicates for each product the quantitative portion of R-PET (as a percentage) in the PET drink bottle;
- creates transparency, represents a quality promise, and makes PET drink bottles ecologically comparable with other PET beverage containers. It is intended to provide a reference to consumers when shopping.

Target groups

Members of PET-Recycling Schweiz have the opportunity to mark PET drink bottles made from Swiss Recycling PET with an externally verified label.

Validity

The validity of the certificate and its associated use amounts to one year.

Recognition

The Swiss R-PET label is a uniform recycling label recognised throughout Switzerland.