Environment Littering continues to decline in Switzerland according to survey

According to an annual survey conducted by the Swiss Competence Center against Littering, littering in Switzerland is steadily decreasing. In 2024, 16% of respondents were of the opinion that a lot of waste in Switzerland is not disposed of properly.

When the survey was conducted for the first time in 2015, 25% still thought that a lot of waste was not disposed of properly. According to the Swiss Competence Center against Littering (IGSU), a total of 2,277 people in 34 locations throughout Switzerland were asked about the littering situation this year.

According to the press release issued on Tuesday, 0.2 percent more respondents than in the previous year said that they littered "rather little" or "little" in their respective locations. 8.3 percent of respondents were of the opinion that there was "a lot" or "rather a lot" of littering at the place where they were surveyed.

The latest results show that the situation is continuing to ease. "We are very pleased that the measures against littering are working," IGSU Managing Director Nora Steimer is quoted as saying in the press release. Politics, business, associations and, last but not least, media coverage have ensured that awareness of the littering problem in Switzerland has been increasing for years.

This year's results also show that Italian-speaking Switzerland rates both local littering and littering in Switzerland as a whole as significantly less serious than the other language regions. It is also striking that people over the age of 65 generally perceive a negative change in the situation, while all other age groups see an improvement.

SDA