Annual Report - Sens

Interview
e-Recycling:
politics and society
Mr Weibel, how much importance does Swiss society
attach to resource efficiency?
Benedikt Weibel: Resource efficiency is becoming increasingly
important, for both Switzerland and the world as a whole.
Using all our resources as efficiently as possible is now a priority.
At the same time, recycling and waste management have
also been gaining in importance for a good while now.
“It is in times when raw materials grow
ever scarcer that optimised, efficient
processes become all the more significant
in economic terms.”
Whereas in the past people were primarily preoccupied with
how to dispose of waste, in the last two decades there has
been a very noticeable trend towards further developing ways
of managing waste correctly, that is, recycling it and recovering
and regenerating resources. The longer this necessary development
is implemented, the more widespread it becomes. It
is in times when raw materials grow ever scarcer that optimised,
efficient processes become all the more significant in
economic terms.
In this context, the pioneering role of the Swiss householdappliances
industry organised in the FEA deserves to be mentioned.
Its measures, which were already implemented in the
1980s, sought to recover materials right from the beginning.
8 SENS Annual Report 2011
In which areas of mobility do you see a need for action as
far as resource efficiency is concerned?
First there are clear signs that the automotive industry has
made huge strides in recent years when it comes to energy
efficiency – thanks to strict regulatory requirements, as it should
be noted. This process will continue unabated in the future.
The railways have been resting on the laurels they owe to their
relatively healthy energy balance for perhaps too long now.
It seems quite a long time since they made great progress, for
example in recouping energy when travelling downhill, compared
to recent developments in automotive engineering.
However, the latest studies on the rolling stock industry have
revealed considerable further potential for saving energy.
Yet the most efficient and cheapest way of enhancing energy
efficiency in both private and public transport is by increasing
occupancy. Two people in one car instead of two cars each
carrying one person is the most intelligent way of maximising
resource efficiency. Levelling out transport peaks would be
equally efficient.
“Yet the most efficient and cheapest way
of enhancing energy efficiency in both
private and public transport is by increasing
occupancy.”