Making progress together

In this section, we would like to elaborate on what our ambition has been every day over the past financial year: looking to the future. Working together with our partners, we attempt to make a difference and accomplish a number of achievements – be it in the political environment, with end customers or even on the international stage.

eWaste Forum 2018

The logistics of the future

The logistics of the future – this was the focus of the second eWaste Forum held at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. This is without a doubt an extremely important issue for everyone involved in collection systems, as more than 50 per cent of their costs are incurred in logistics. The number of people taking part in the Forum was accordingly high.

In his introduction, SWICO Managing Director Jean-Marc Hensch referred to the venue of the Forum, the National Museum, as a place where “many objects are presented that were not created to be placed on display” and called for more attention to be paid to what happens to items after they have ceased being useful. SENS Managing Director Heidi Luck did exactly this by sharing her personal vision; specifically that of a continuous logistics chain in which items would be picked up from the consumer’s front door at the end of their useful life just as reliably and conveniently as they are already being delivered there today – whether it be by bicycle, van or drone.

With friendly and animated moderation provided by Mascha Santschi, the three speakers gave those in attendance an insight into how close their respective employers and projects already are to achieving this vision.

Bernhard Häuselmann, Strategy Project Leader at the Swiss Post, first of all made it clear that technical progress in logistics was not a problem that is likely to come up in the future – quite the opposite in fact: “The postal service has always successfully embraced and used new technologies. It was not long after the first double-decker had been introduced that they were being used to transport bags of mail.” He continued by saying that increasing data volumes were not causing any difficulties either, as they had been successfully managed to date. He believes that it is much more likely that there will be issues in the area of regulation. Häuselmann sees a real opportunity to achieve a circular economy by means of optimised logistics in cross-sector partnerships as well as through platforms that efficiently form a network for logistics providers and customers to communicate so that empty runs can be avoided, for example.

Mario Schmuziger, Business Solution Manager at Zühlke, provided the audience with a first look into how these systems are used in practice by showing how tailored applications have been used to massively reduce and optimise the distance that containers at the Port of Hamburg have to be transported to reach the lorries. He said that this is nothing new for recycling companies, because “who hasn’t had to order new skips because they no longer knew where every single one was?” Schmuziger explained that it was worthwhile for both large ports and small players in logistics to increase the added value in processes – not just because of the costs involved, but also for the sake of customers and the environment.

To round off the event, Dominic Boeni amazed the audience by demonstrating the speed at which the scanner programme developed by his company SCANDIT could record product information – and not by using highly specialised equipment, but with just his smartphone. SCANDIT specialises in transferring the information saved in barcodes to mobile phones, i.e. the mobile end devices that every single one of us has today and that we all prefer to use in comparison to the conventional hefty barcode scanners. Boeni explained that the technology was proving interesting not only for producers and logistics companies, but also for customers, as they could use their smartphones to access the “augmented reality” information available on their favourite products. He continued by saying that SCANDIT works mainly with companies that have to process huge volumes of goods quickly and efficiently. This technology, however, is still a really long way off for small village collection points.

After being presented with and inspired by new ideas, the Forum participants made their way to the courtyard of the National Museum at the end of the event to discuss what they had just heard. They were, of course, also provided with delicious food and refreshing drinks.

Motion

Urgent action required regarding the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment

The Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy Committee (ESPEC) unanimously approved the motion “Urgent action required for the taking back and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment” (17.3636).

The motion does not stipulate how this optimisation work is to be carried out. The Council of States and the industry are clearly in favour of a basic obligation agreement. The Federal Councillor responsible, Doris Leuthard, did not state her opinion in the Council of States, but had previously voted for a comprehensive obligation agreement. The spokesperson for the ESPEC, Beat Vonlanthen (CVP FR), emphasised to the government that voluntary take-back systems must be continued and that targeted optimisation is needed. He continued by saying that a comprehensive obligation agreement would not be the next step, but rather the last resort. “The playing of the market mechanisms is the main advantage of the basic obligation agreement over a comprehensive obligation agreement,” explained the State Councillor of Fribourg in the Council debate.

State Councillor Hannes Germann (SVP SH), Chairman of the Association of Swiss Communes (Schweizerischer Gemeindeverband), backed up the previous speaker: “The current system must be improved, with everyone involved having to do their homework – from systems operators and communal collection points to transport companies and recycling companies.”

The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) is expected to invite all of the players involved to discuss the matter as the next step. The aim is to have everyone involved contribute to the optimisation of the system. As per the motion, steps must be taken “to ensure that online retailers and importers are no longer able to circumvent the system in place for Switzerland. This should be enforced primarily under private law with as little administrative effort as possible required.”