Electrifying pet supplies: from light-up balls to litter robots

Attention animal lovers: Did you know that more and more of the items you buy for your furry or feathered friends contain small electronic parts? Did you also know that these items should be recycled at the end of their service life? In this blog, you can find out about the features of electronic appliances and toys and where you can dispose of them free of charge.

Time was when dogs and cats used to hunt mice, birds and other wild animals in the great outdoors. Today, they are increasingly being looked after at home with the aid of little electronic helpers, from electric food bowls and automatic drinking fountains to litter robots that can be controlled using an app. These appliances often operate with sensors and are therefore dependent on a constant supply of electricity. They usually draw this directly from the electrical socket via a cable or contain a rechargeable battery somewhere in their housing. The flashing collars and LED-equipped flying discs and light-up balls, which we can use to keep our pets entertained outside in the woods or in the park until late at night, work differently. These toys usually contain a small battery, which is why they also count as electrical or electronic appliances, as you can read on our features list.

Look out for the crossed-out wheelie bin

It’s important to know the features of electrical or electronic appliances. In addition to batteries and rechargeable batteries, which can easily ignite if the pressure is too high, hazardous or harmful substances can be released into the environment if appliances are disposed of incorrectly. Therefore, before disposing of an appliance or toy, check whether it is labelled with a crossed-out wheelie bin or whether the item contains a hidden battery. As described above, LEDs are also an important indication that the item is an electrical or electronic appliance that should not be disposed of with household waste.

How to dispose of electrical or electronic appliances correctly and free of charge

Did you know that in Switzerland you can take any electronic item free of charge to a SENS collection point, back to the shop where you bought the product or to a shop that sells similar electronic appliances? And you don’t have to buy a new appliance to be allowed to dispose of your old one. This is because Swiss retailers are obliged by law to take back all electronic or electrical appliances free of charge and recycle them so that any harmful substances can be safely removed from the appliances and valuable resources can be returned to the raw materials cycle.

The ARC – A pillar of the Swiss recycling system

The free take-back and professional disposal of electrical or electronic appliances via the take-back system launched by SENS eRecycling and its partners in the 1990s only works as long as consumers pay the advance recycling contribution (ARC) when purchasing electronic appliances. This is levied on the price of new appliances voluntarily by nearly all Swiss retailers. However, if you prefer to buy your products for your pets abroad or from foreign online suppliers who do not charge an advance recycling contribution like this on their products, the Swiss recycling system will end up lacking the money to cover the costs of collecting and properly disposing of all electrical and electronic appliances. After all, you can’t just look at an appliance to tell whether it was purchased in Switzerland or abroad or whether the ARC was paid or not.