Sustainability Report 2017

In Switzerland, the goal of waste re-use and re- duction is to disconnect waste generation from economic growth and eliminate the harmful ef- fects of waste on people and the environment. The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) consequently seeks to achieve an overall material cycle based primarily (75 percent) on secondary raw materials and only partially (25 percent) on primary raw materials by the year 2030. These goals should be achieved by the three-tier waste hierarchy consisting of “prevention, reduction, and re-use.” Waste should only be reduced or re- used when it cannot be prevented. (FOEN, 2016) In terms of waste and recycling legislation, Swiss regulations are for the most part comparable with those of the EU or selected member states such as Germany. The EU states have defined central waste-related notions including a five-tier waste hierarchy in the EU Waste Framework Directive of 2008 (2008/98/EC on waste) . This directive makes waste disposal according to the five-tier waste hi- erarchy (shown above) a legal requirement for all EU member states. The hierarchy establishes the following priority order for measures defined by individual member states. In Germany generating, managing and recycling of waste and recyclable materials are governed by the Closed Cycle and Waste Management Act (KrWG) , which has been in effect since June 1, 2012. The KrWG made the provisions of the EU Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) a part of German law. A central feature of the Closed Cycle and Waste Management Act is therefore the five-tier waste hierarchy described in Paragraph 6. (German Fede- ral Environmental Agency, 2016) Even more, according to the current draft of the new EU Waste Framework Directive, the standards for the separate collection of used textiles are ex- pected to rise until 2025 and re-use and recycling rates should increase to 65 percent of all residen- tial waste by 2035. WASTE LEGISLATION REGARDING THE RE-USE OF TEXTILES All TEXAID companies recycle their used textiles in strict accordance with the waste-related rules and regulations enforced at their respective location. The order of priority (Article 4) : · prevention · preparation for re-use · recycling · other recovery, e.g. energy recovery · disposal 25