Swiss Recycle

What Swiss Recycle does

Swiss Recycle is a non-profit association (Verein) under Swiss law, headquartered in Zürich, designated as the official Swiss Competence Center for Recycling and Circular Economy. The organization functions as the umbrella coordination body for the entire Swiss recycling industry, uniting 8 member recycling systems that cover steel packaging (Ferro Recycling), aluminum (Igora), batteries (Inobat), PET bottles (PET-Recycling Schweiz), plastics and beverage cartons (RecyPac), electrical and electronic equipment (SENS eRecycling and Swico), and glass packaging (VetroSwiss). Beyond its member coordination role, Swiss Recycle delivers consulting, training, webinars, and workshops to Swiss municipalities, companies, schools, and the general public, and produces the annual Leistungsbericht performance report on Swiss recycling metrics.

The organization's product portfolio centers on knowledge services rather than technology products: the Toolbox digital resource library (fact sheets, templates, guides), the Recycling-Map collection point finder, the German-language podcast 'Use me Baby one more time', and free educational materials for schools developed jointly with IGSU. Key annual events include the Recyclingkongress (Switzerland's largest recycling industry gathering, ~380 participants in 2026) and Recycling Day (200+ local actions coordinated in 2025). Underlying technology consists of an online portal, EV database, and a third-party chatbot deployed via partnership with Swiss Moonshot AG — the organization does not build proprietary AI/ML systems.

Swiss Recycle's revenue model is a mix of recurring membership fees from its 8 member organizations, annual partnership fees from companies and municipalities, and transactional event revenue (e.g., CHF 165 per Recyclingkongress video recording, paid webinars and workshops). The organization is led by Co-Managing Directors Viviane Pfister and Rahel Ostgen, under the presidency of Christine Wiederkehr-Luther, and operates exclusively within Switzerland with no geographic expansion or external investor involvement. All revenue is reinvested into coordination, education, and industry development activities aligned with the Verein's non-profit mandate.

Name

Swiss Recycle

Legal name

Swiss Recycle

Website

https://swissrecycle.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Swiss Recycle is a non-profit association headquartered in Zürich that serves as the official Swiss Competence Center for Recycling and Circular Economy, coordinating 8 member recycling systems and providing consulting, training, educational materials, and events to municipalities, companies, schools, and the general public across Switzerland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycling and Circular Economy Services

NAICS

Waste Management and Remediation Services (562), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Reuse & Resale / Recommerce Operations (EUAIANAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB)

Keywords

• Recycling consulting services
• Circular economy advisory
• Waste management training
• Municipal recycling programs
• Recycling education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Swiss Recycle is funded by its members, which are the Swiss recycling systems including Ferro Recycling, Igora, Inobat, PET-Recycling Schweiz, RecyPac, SENS, Swico, and VetroSwiss. These organizations pay membership fees to belong to the umbrella organization.
2. Event participation fees: Revenue generated from paid events such as the Recyclingkongress. Video recordings of events are sold for CHF 165. Paid webinars and workshops for municipalities and companies.
3. Partnership fees: Companies and municipalities can become partners of Swiss Recycle, gaining access to networking platforms, free Toolbox access, free event participation, and exclusive digital consulting services. Fees are paid annually.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Swiss Recycle operates as Switzerland's national competence center for recycling and circular economy, functioning as an umbrella association that coordinates the country's eight main recycling systems. It delivers knowledge resources (Toolbox, Recycling-Map, Recycling ABC, publications), professional consulting, training (webinars, workshops, courses), events (Recyclingkongress, Recycling Day, school competitions), and the Circular Award to municipalities, companies, schools, and the general public.

Product overview

Swiss Recycle is Switzerland's competence center for recycling and circular economy, operating as an umbrella organization. The organization offers a portfolio of knowledge resources and services including the Toolbox (digital resource library), Recycling-Map (collection point finder), educational materials for schools, and the podcast 'Use me Baby one more time'. For municipalities and companies, it provides professional consulting, webinars, workshops, and organizes the annual Recyclingkongress and Recycling Day events. The organization also publishes the annual Leistungsbericht (performance report) with recycling statistics and administers the Circular Award for innovation in circular economy. The portfolio operates on a membership and partnership model, with SENS eRecycling, Swico Recycling, PET-Recycling Schweiz, and other recycling systems as member organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Use me Baby one more time: Podcast series about recycling and circular economy produced by Swiss Recycle

Products and services

• Toolbox Digital knowledge box providing informational materials, studies, templates, posters, flyers, and fact sheets about recycling and circular economy, available to partners and the public.
• Recycling-Map Interactive map tool helping users find nearby recycling collection points across Switzerland.
• Podcast "Use me Baby one more time" German-language podcast series covering recycling myths, plastic recycling, textiles, urban mining, glass recycling, repair incentives, and circular economy topics in Switzerland. Hosted by Andrea and Manuel.
• Educational Materials for Schools Free teaching materials for kindergarten and primary school classes (cycles 1-3) covering recycling, littering, resources, and circular economy, co-developed with IGSU. Includes worksheets, crafts, experiments, and digital integrations.
• Recyclingkongress Annual recycling congress bringing together industry professionals, municipalities, and stakeholders. Features presentations on policy, AI in recycling, and the Circular Award competition. The 2026 edition in Biel/Bienne attracted nearly 380 participants.
• Recycling Day International action day held annually (March 18) to raise awareness for recycling and circular economy. Swiss municipalities, schools, and companies organize local activities under the slogan "Trenn dich!".
• Webinars Online seminars for municipalities, companies, and collection points covering topics like waste management, recycling processes, and circular economy practices. Free for partners; available for a fee to others.
• Workshops In-person and online workshops for municipalities and companies covering waste management, recycling processes, and circular economy topics. Includes the Grundlagenkurs Kommunale Abfallbewirtschaftung basic course.
• Circular Award Annual innovation award recognizing outstanding circular economy projects in Switzerland. The 2026 winner was Evolium Technologies SA for circular lithium battery solutions.
• Leistungsbericht (Performance Report) Annual report providing key figures, material flow diagrams, and indicators for recycling in Switzerland, based on Federal Office for Environment (UFAM) data.
• Professional Consulting Services Expert advisory services for municipalities, private collection points, associations, and companies on waste management, recycling systems, and circular economy implementation. Exclusive digital consulting is included for partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 52% of Swiss municipal solid waste is recycled, with environmental benefits equivalent to 65% of Switzerland's total heating oil consumption or ~66,000 inhabitants of Lugano.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Ferro RecyclingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFerro Recycling is the Swiss recycling system for steel packaging (tins, cans). Founded in 1987, it is a member organization of Swiss Recycle. Swiss Recycle coordinates with Ferro Recycling on steel packaging recycling standards and public education.
• IgoracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIgora is the Swiss recycling system for aluminum packaging. As a member of Swiss Recycle, Igora participates in the coordination of aluminum recycling and contributes to industry guidelines.
• InobatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInobat is Switzerland's organization for battery and accumulator recycling. Member of Swiss Recycle, contributing expertise on hazardous waste recycling.
• PET-Recycling SchweizcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPET-Recycling Schweiz manages PET beverage bottle recycling in Switzerland, organizing the entire cycle from collection to sorting and recycling. Member organization of Swiss Recycle.
• RecyPaccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecyPac is the organization for plastic packaging and beverage carton recycling in Switzerland. Member of Swiss Recycle, working on nationwide plastic collection initiatives.
• SENS eRecyclingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSENS eRecycling is one of Switzerland's systems for electrical and electronic equipment recycling. Member organization of Swiss Recycle, contributing to e-waste management standards.
• SwicocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwico is a Swiss recycling system for electrical and electronic equipment. Member of Swiss Recycle, participating in coordination of e-waste recycling standards and collection.
• VetroSwisscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVetroSwiss manages glass packaging recycling in Switzerland. As a member of Swiss Recycle, VetroSwiss contributes to glass recycling standards and public education.
• IGSU (Iniziativaqwelle gegen Littering)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGSU is the Swiss Competence Center against Littering. Swiss Recycle collaborates with IGSU on school materials and the annual school competition. Both organizations work together to promote environmental awareness among children using the characters Cycly (circular economy) and Cleany (anti-littering).
• ASIC (Associazione svizzera Infrastrutture comunali)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASIC is the Swiss Association of Municipal Infrastructures. Swiss Recycle co-organizes the Recyclingkongress with ASIC, emphasizing the importance of exchange between stakeholders along the value chain for circular economy.
• Umweltarena SpreitenbachminorOthersSwiss Recycle partners with Umweltarena in Spreitenbach as the prize destination for school competition winners. Schools participating in competitions can win trips to the Umweltarena environmental education center.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Citeo: France's accredited eco-organization for household packaging and paper recycling, funded by EPR fees from companies. Comparable in that it coordinates packaging recycling across an entire country, runs consumer education, and serves as the single point of accountability to government — direct functional peer in a neighboring market.
• Eco-systèmes: Another French accredited eco-organization in the EPR ecosystem (focused on specific household appliance/WEEE streams). Functionally parallel to one of Swiss Recycle's member systems (SENS eRecycling, Swico), illustrating the equivalent EPR-coordination model that surrounds Swiss Recycle's members.
• IGSU (Interessengemeinschaft gegen Littering): Swiss anti-littering competence center that is itself a partner of Swiss Recycle. Highly comparable in mission (Swiss-based, anti-littering/circular-economy education), target audience (public + schools), and co-developing the school materials program.

Broad incumbents

• WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme): UK-based non-profit working with governments, businesses, and citizens on circular economy and resource efficiency. Most direct international analogue to Swiss Recycle given its multi-stakeholder coordination role across packaging, textiles, and food waste, though it operates at much larger scale.
• BDE (Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungswirtschaft): Germany's leading trade association for the waste management and recycling industry. Analogous umbrella role over German waste/recycling players, with policy advocacy, member services, and industry events — a broader-incumbent peer operating at national scale in a larger market.

Regional players

• Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE): European trade association representing plastics recyclers across the continent. Comparable because it represents multiple member organizations in the recycling value chain, advocates on EPR/regulation, and runs industry events — though its scope is plastics-only and pan-European rather than Swiss.
• Confederation of European Waste-to-Energy Plants (CEWEP): European association representing operators of waste-to-energy plants. Comparable in form (industry association coordinating members, running events and policy advocacy) though adjacent in topic (energy recovery vs. materials recovery).
• European Recycling Association (ERA): Pan-European trade body for the paper and board recycling value chain. Comparable as an association-led coordination point between collection, sorting, and end-market players; operates at a higher geographic level but similar stakeholder-bridging function.

Others

• Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU / UFAM): Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, with which Swiss Recycle coordinates on EPR legislation and recycling statistics. Thematically adjacent as the regulator/standards-setter that defines the policy framework within which Swiss Recycle operates.
• R reprocovery: Not used — replaced with the more relevant European Recycling Association peer below.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SwissRecycling
• Facebookfacebook.com/SwissRecycleSR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swissrecycle

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Swiss Recycle