Switzerland features high on every travel enthusiast’s bucket list, which is for more than one reason. Besides being one of the most beautiful places globally, it is also the most eco-friendly place. While numerous countries are battling out for this position, Switzerland seems to be holding onto it for several decades now! So, what makes Switzerland the most eco-friendly countries in the world?
Well, one of them is Switzerland’s tough legislative policies and general awareness among the public. Read on to find out what makes Switzerland top the list of a clean and green city in the world.
The Conscious Citizens
In most towns, citizens pay to dispose of the trash. Garbage collection takes place only if it comes with an attached payment sticker, but recycling is free. It might surprise you to know that Switzerland is also the top recycler in the world. And in case you dispose of the garbage without a sticker, the Police and Swiss health officials will ransack the garbage, find something they can use to trace it back to your home.
Yes, they are that particular. And once they trace you down, you might have to shell out a huge penalty for disposing of trash without a sticker! They use modern incinerators to recycle the trash collected. The incineration plants come in handy in providing energy for homes. So, Switzerland is one of the few countries that productively use their trash to improve their environment.
Clean Tap Water
Switzerland has the cleanest water in the world. And yes, the bottled mineral water does not cost as high as mineral water of other countries. Switzerland has countless lakes and waterways such as the Rhine and Rhone, improving water quality in as many ways as possible.
ARA Bern is a wastewater treatment plant that is much more technologically advanced than other treatment plants across Europe. The plant can clean up to 90 million liters of wastewater every single day. They also produce biogas that comes from the sewage sludge. This gas is useful for fueling public transport systems. By 2022 ARA Bern will add a cleaning process to remove the micropollutants from wastewater.
Carbon Capturing
The 2018 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report clarifies that negative emissions can help keep global warming below the critical 2 °C target and avert major climate disasters. We incorporate the key changes towards energy efficiency, and renewable energy is positive, but not enough. Therefore, climate change mitigation needs carbon removal technologies to achieve what you can call a zero-emission or aim for a negative emissions future.
The world’s first industrial-scale carbon capture plant opened in Zurich in 2017. The plant is said to remove CO2 from the air via a direct air capture. The process hardly requires any space and water.
The plants remove CO2 from the air through direct air capture. The CO2 then goes to the greenhouse with as many as 250 000 similar sized plants. The plant can capture about 900 tons of CO2 produced from about 200 cars in a year.
Conscious Traveling
Conscious travelers will find that Switzerland is the country that utilizes the resources of the country judiciously. The alpine country also recommends green farm stays, hotels, and campsites equipped to ensure proper recycling of waste, using a heating system without using oil or wood, and optimized resource planning that boosts eco-consciousness ratings. The country advocates public transport for its citizens and tourists fast and reliable and reduces the negative environmental impact in the surrounding.
The state-of-the-art Swiss Travel System in Switzerland is the most efficient public transportation system with fully-integrated travel options such as air, train, and bus systems run by clean hydroelectric power sources. This results in a drastic reduction of carbon footprint by tourists and citizens.
A train journey in Switzerland can produce twenty times less CO2 than, say, a car journey on a similar route. Switzerland’s eco-friendly transport solutions can save on CO2 emissions by almost five million tonnes! No wonder it is one of the greenest countries in the world! Tell us, have you visited Switzerland? How do you think you can bring similar changes to your city or, say, for that matter, in your neighborhood? Share your ideas in the comments section!
