Medical devices are now covered by the Recycling Ordinance

Thanks to the separate collection and recycling of end-of-life appliances, valuable materials such as gold, copper, aluminium, iron or recyclable plastic components can be recovered using the appropriate recycling technologies. The Federal Council writes that the revision of the ordinance will help to strengthen the recycling of old equipment and thus close the resource cycle. With the revised VREG, rare technology metals such as neodymium or tantalum are now to be recovered if the necessary processes exist, it says.

What new things are included in recycling?

The scope of the Ordinance on the VREG is to be extended to all electrical and electronic equipment from 1 January 2022. According to information, this includes in particular medical devices, monitoring and control instruments, dispensing machines and photovoltaic modules, which will in future fall under the VREG. The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) will publish a list of the devices concerned, according to the Federal Council's statement. The fact that the requirements of the VREG now also apply to equipment from vehicles, buildings and objects that can be dismantled at a reasonable cost also increases the potential for recovering recyclable components.

The revised package of regulations states that a concrete division into equipment categories will now be dispensed with in the VREG. This is justified by the fact that, in the context of the disposal process, equipment is not grouped according to categories, but according to components and the substances they contain in various treatment streams. Treatment streams are designed to concentrate target materials - which can be recyclables or pollutants - in as pure a form as possible. In this way, they can be better recycled (material or energy) or disposed of, as the Federal Office for the Environment emphasises.

Funding solution deferred

It is also stated that due to the ongoing discussions on parliamentary initiative 20.433 "Strengthening the Swiss circular economy", aspects relating to the future financing solution for the collection and disposal of electrical and electronic equipment within the framework of the VREG have been postponed. As soon as the work of parliament has been completed, the Uvek will analyse whether the VREG should be revised again with a view to the future financing system, as it concludes.

Source: Confederation / rs

Info about the VREG:

• Ordinance on the return, take-back and disposal of electrical and electronic equipment (VREG) 
• Explanatory report on the VREG