A law was introduced in 1998 forbidding consumers from throwing electric and electronic goods out with the household rubbish. To ensure that they are not dumped in places where they could damage the environment, Switzerland has instituted a system of recycling taxes which are included in the purchase price of these goods. Consumers can take their computers, televisions, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and similar items either back to the shop or to special collection points when they reach the end of their useful life. Some parts are recycled, the rest will be disposed of safely.

In 2003 35,000 tonnes of household electrical goods and 30,000 tonnes of electronic items were treated under the recycling tax scheme - between 80 and 93% of the total amount of such goods which are thought to come to the end of their lives each year.

Switzerland is a pioneer in the recycling of electrowaste. The most important material to be recycled is the metal content. However, the plastic currently recovered from the apparatus is not suitable for use to make new products and most of it therefore goes for fuel in specialised heating power plants.