On March 11, 2025, the Swiss civil society organization OceanCare issued a public statement calling on the Swiss federal government to strengthen its measures against plastic pollution and to accelerate the transition toward a circular economy. The declaration, endorsed by nine other civil society organizations in Switzerland, outlines a set of ten recommended actions aimed at reducing the environmental and human health impacts of plastic use (FPF reported).
Fabienne McLellan, Managing Director of OceanCare, emphasized the role Switzerland can play in global plastic reduction. “The increasing production of virgin plastic and the excessive consumption of plastic, including in Switzerland, is contributing to the global waste of resources and environmental pollution,” McLellan stated in the press release. “If Switzerland wants to make an international contribution against the flood of plastic, it must also start with itself and set a good example.”
The declaration proposes for Switzerland to take the following ten measures:
- Ban unnecessary single-use plastics such as cutlery, drinking straws, and excessive packaging.
- Introduce binding targets for the reduction of plastic use, with an emphasis on reduction over recycling.
- Phase out non-recyclable and toxic plastic packaging.
- Implement extended producer responsibility (EPR) mechanisms to fund reuse infrastructure.
- Develop large-scale systems for the reuse of products and materials.
- Establish national standards for reuse and refill systems.
- Ensure full transparency regarding the composition of plastic materials.
- Prevent health risks associated with chemicals contained in plastics.
- Curb misleading claims about the recyclability and sustainability of plastic products.
- Commit to transparency across the entire plastic lifecycle, including production, import, export, use, reuse, recycling, composting, and disposal.
Joëlle Hérin, a circular economy expert at Greenpeace Switzerland, one of the signatories of the declaration, noted the public health dimension of the issue (FPF reported). “If the federal government cares about our health, it is essential to expand reuse, eliminate non-essential single-use packaging and products, and ban hazardous substances in plastics,” Hérin said.
Switzerland is a member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, an intergovernmental alliance advocating for a robust global plastics treaty. The second part of the fifth and final session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) for the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) forthcoming global plastics treaty is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from August 5 to 14, 2025 (FPF reported).
References
Swiss Plastic Action (March 11, 2025) “Plastikverschmutzung: 10 dringende Forderungen von Schweizer NGOs and den Bundesrat.” (in German)
OceanCare (March 11, 2025) “Plastikverschmutzung: Schweizer NGO-Koalition fordert ambitionierte Reform der Regeln für Getränkeverpackungen.” (in German)
