Waste & Disposal
According to the 2030 Implementation Strategy for the Sustainability Policy, UZH should reduce the «environmental impact associated with its waste generation». This reduction aims to reduce the absolute amount of waste. Furthermore the proportion of recycling should be increased where ecological added value is guaranteed. In addition, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by the disposal of waste have been included in the system boundary of UZH's climate neutrality target, which results in an obligation to reduce them. At UZH, green waste and garbage account for the majority of both the waste volume and the waste-related GHG emissions.
When it comes to waste disposal, sustainability means avoiding waste in the first place. The second step is to close material cycles through recycling. This means using materials that have already been used for future production. Only then one has to think about environmentally friendly disposal.
Table of contents
Waste disposal at UZH
At UZH, waste is collected by the Betriebsdienste and the Department for Safety, Security and Environment. This waste is handed over to certified external companies for professional recycling or final disposal. Since 2023, abfallboerse has been supporting UZH in its waste disposal and regularly collects data on this. This improves the data situation on the basis of which future measures can be designed and implemented.
Irchel Operations Service
Center Operations Service
Vetsuisse Operations Service
Safety and Environment Department
waste exchange
Current developments and projects at UZH
In 2023, 3,818 tons of waste were disposed of at UZH. In 2024, the figure was 2'796 tons. The specific waste generation (amount of waste per person or FTE) decreased in 2023 and 2024 compared to 2018.
Additional measures are needed to reduce the volume of waste and increase the recycling rate. The following waste projects are currently underway at UZH:
Decarb UZH
As part of the strategic project «Decarb UZH Climate Neutrality 2030», a task force is investigating specific measures to reduce GHG emissions associated with waste disposal.
to the project description
Recycling of pipette boxes
Numerous plastic products are used in research at UZH, including pipette boxes. These are generally only used as packaging and dispensers. Many of them are reused, which is sustainable, but unfortunately not always possible. Dedicated employees at the Materials Center have implemented a project in which pipette boxes that are no longer used are collected and shredded by an external company. An external recycling company now uses these to manufacture new products, which are offered again in the UZH materials store. In addition to environmental protection, this project also focused on creating trust in recycling processes. You can see how the unused boxes are recycled and what new products they are turned into in the video below.
TipWash
The project Reusing Plastic Disposables: Automated Pipette Tip Washing (TipWash) explores the potential of reusing pipette tips to make laboratory work more sustainable and at the same time more cost-efficient, using UZH as a real-world laboratory.
more about the project and others using UZH as a real laboratory
Anti-Littering Irchelpark
The «Anti-Littering Irchelpark Initiative» is concerned with the sustainable use and management of Irchelpark.
more about Anti-Littering Irchelpark
Detailed waste data tables
These tables are optimized for screen readers. The superscript numbers are displayed below the heading «Footnotes» .
Waste Disposal Statistics 2018–2024 (in t)1
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 3'595.4 | 3'622.0 | 3'515.8 | 3'762.1 | 3'064.4 | 3'818.5 | 2'795.6 |
| Municipal waste | 1'183.7 | 1'064.7 | 908.6 | 1'009.6 | 1'045.3 | 843.6 | 803.6 |
| Biowaste2 | 1'785.4 | 1'941.8 | 2'117.8 | 2'169.4 | 1'428.5 | 2'345.2 | 1'263.2 |
| Ceramics | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 7.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
| Recycled waste | 565.7 | 549.2 | 426.8 | 492.2 | 485.7 | 589.9 | 637.3 |
| Non-recycled hazardous waste3 | 59.9 | 65.7 | 62.1 | 83.1 | 86.5 | 85.5 | 90.5 |
Disposal statistics for recycled waste by individual recyclable materials 2018–2024 (in t)
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recycled waste total | 565.7 | 549.2 | 426.8 | 492.2 | 485.7 | 589.9 | 637.3 |
| Paper und Cardboard4 | 251.0 | 255.2 | 202.5 | 218.1 | 184.75 | 172.7 | 202.2 |
| Glass | 43.8 | 48.9 | 48.3 | 52.2 | 53.4 | 53.9 | 45.6 |
| Metals | 57.5 | 62.9 | 53.7 | 77.3 | 75.6 | 65.3 | 67.5 |
| Plastics | 1.9 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 2.2 |
| Bulky waste and bulky construction waste | 97.1 | 55.6 | 41.9 | 64.7 | 97.7 | 183.5 | 201.4 |
| Furniture | 57.2 | 84.7 | 56.8 | 48.3 | 34.0 | 37.16 | 40.2 |
| Other recycled waste7 | 40.5 | 46.0 | |||||
| Hazardous waste: Fluorescent tubes and other lighting devices | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Hazardous waste: Batteries | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Other recycled hazardous waste8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Footnotes
1 Paper and cardboard are increasingly being disposed of together for logistical and resource reasons. PET bottles, which are disposed of by the ZFV catering service, are not listed here. In addition to plastics, pipette boxes (2023 and 2024: approx. 10 t per year; recycled) are also included. Green waste from the nursery on the Irchel campus has only been reported since 2021.
2 Excluding food scraps from the cafeterias. Including animal and horse manure.
3 Hazardous waste recorded by the Safety and Environment Department and the waste exchange that is not recycled.
4 In previous sustainability reports, paper, cardboard, and mixed paper and cardboard were reported separately.
5 Since January 1, 2022, Entsorgung + Recycling Zürich has been collecting the paper and cardboard from the Center for Continuing Education, but does not record any quantities; these are therefore not part of the total amount reported.
6 This value had to be estimated due to missing data and corresponds to the average of the values from 2022 and 2024.
7 New category since 2023. This category includes mixed combustible construction waste and recontaminated excavated material.
8 Other hazardous waste includes Sharps bacterial filters, amalgam-containing waste and aerosol cans.
GHG emissions from waste
As part of the Strategic Project Decarb UZH Climate Neutrality 2030, a task force on waste was established in 2024. Waste-related GHG emissions were included in the system boundary of the climate neutrality target, resulting in a need for reduction. In the 2023/2024 reporting period, GHG emissions from waste were recorded for the first time. While a reduction was recorded for industrial waste, emissions from hazardous waste increased compared to 2018, partly due to an increase in solvents. At the end of 2024, an initial sample analysis of waste composition was initiated at four sites to define targeted waste reduction measures to reduce emissions associated with waste disposal.
Hazardous waste
Some areas of research and teaching generate unavoidable hazardous waste. This applies in particular to laboratory-intensive research and teaching. The Safety, Security and Environment Office accepts all hazardous waste from UZH and hands it over to authorized companies for proper disposal.
Current tables will follow soon.
Tips on the subject of waste
You can find various tips for sustainable action in the «Get active» section of the website. There are also a few things to bear in mind when it comes to waste.
to the tips on waste
Source: Parts of this text were similarly published for the first time in the Sustainability Report 2021/2022 and have been continuously updated for this website.