I know you can recycle/bring them on some centers. But should I just bring it there or is there anything i should do prior?
Should i take an appointment of any sort?
What sort of appliances do you have? Usually for stuff like a fridge, you can arrange for the company you buy your new one from to collect the old one.
Otherwise if itâs something you can carry like a printer or food processor, you can take it to somewhere like Interdiscount and chuck it in a big container somewhere in the shop.
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You can take such appliances to any shop that sells similar things, many Gemeinde accepts them in their rubbish collection centres.
This is a free service you paid for when you bought the item in Switzerland.
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No, you donât have to do anything in advance, other than make sure you take your stuff to the recycling centre when itâs open. Most, if not all, have a webpage; check it out before you go there and thatâs it. Also, as you may have to pay a small amount for recycling certain things, bring some cash with you as you canât always pay by card.
Which canton? And which recycling center?
In some cantons you get an annual invoice for âwaste managementâ and you can bring all you want to recycling centers. In others, no annual invoice and you pay per kg of appliance waste. In others, they take it at no cost.
So, check this index/map that contains the weblinks to local recycling centers. Then, you can check the service terms https://recycling-map.ch/
I did it a few times in a local Migros MM (Vaud).
Iâve just taken appliances as-is, went to a place selling flowers belonging to Migros, said it was for recycling, and they took it, no questions asked.
Unfortunately that map is misleading.
This is a freezer (gefriershrank) and the map says that there are many centers taking home appliances. However, many from the map responded they cannot.
I am from kanton Schwyz (between freienbach and Pfaffikon) but I do not have a car. I only have a cart and I could bring it only via train.
Do you know of any center that will be taking it?
Any shop that sells such appliances HAS to take it
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I do not know which places near me do this, or nearby any train station. Calling them has resulted in many telling me that they cannot (most do not speak good english also)
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Ok i will look for shops selling fridges and then call them.
You donât need to call them first. Look out for shops like interdiscount and fust. Itâd be good if you could enlist a neighbour or friend with transport. As far as i know the shops wonât pick up. They only come and pick up if you buy a new one from them
OK man, I understand your angst now. It is indeed a big object you have to get rid of and you donât have a car; make sure they take it and do ask in advance. Ask shops that sell freezers, recycling centres even if theyâre out of your âreachââŚsomebody must take it.
I can totally move it there, I have a cart. I can travel with train and it is not too heavy to move.
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Just to be clear: shops which sell the same type of appliances are obligated by law to take and recycle old appliances. It doesnât matter which shop you buy the new one from. Thatâs the easiest way to dispose of old appliances. If thereâs no suitable shop near you but a recycling center is, then that might be a better option for you. In this case, a phone call first might be a good idea. There still shouldnât be a charge as the cost of recycling or at least a part of it is included in the selling price. But best check.
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There used to be a couple of threads about a âMan with Vanâ, or similar over on the old EF. Maybe @Phil_MCR can dig it up and you could contact one of them in your area?
When I order the new appliance, I pay for the âdispose of old applianceâ option. If youâre replacing a machine, I would do that.
Just to be clear: there is a charge for this but that relates to picking up your appliance from your home and taking it to a recycling center
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I think I found this one, which is quite close to Horgen train station:
Zugerstrasse 30, 8810 Horgen, Svizzera
Itâs a Fust and when calling he said no issue in bringing it there. I will give this a try and let you know.
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[quote=âunswissed, post:7, topic:823â]Unfortunately that map is misleading.
This is a freezer (gefriershrank) and the map says that there are many centers taking home appliances. However, many from the map responded they cannot.
I am from kanton Schwyz (between freienbach and Pfaffikon) but I do not have a car. I only have a cart and I could bring it only via train.
Do you know of any center that will be taking it?
[/quote]
Thatâs a not so pleasant surprise. That map is the index of recycling centers association, no reason to misdirect people. Just to make sure thereâs not a misunderstanding, the symbol for electric household appliances (including freezers) is this one.
Usually, any local Fust, Interdiscount, Jumbo, M Electronics must receive it.
About taking the freezer on the train, it depends on how large it isâŚuse common sense 
Large objects are not welcome in public transport https://www.zueritoday.ch/zuerich/stadt-zuerich/passagier-steigt-mit-kuehlschrank-in-zuercher-bus-ein-156077532
Unfortunately, I have called the website itself (telephone at the bottom of the page):
SENS eRecycling â Foundation for recycling of electrical and electronic appliances
I asked them specifically and they said that the map is not really reliable. In the map you can even see that centers like Coop and Aldi are mentioned, but they do not take freezers because they do not sell them.
I asked them specifically to point me to a center but they were not able to and asked me to go around and ask instead (and call back if i was not able to).
I think the symbol on the map only says âthis is a center taking one or more types of household appliances, but not all of themâ.
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