There’s no circular economy without recycling technicians!
Conserving scarce resources and processing and sorting recyclable materials require well-trained specialists. For 25 years now, recycling technicians have been conserving raw materials and putting them back into circulation, ensuring safe disposal of hazardous materials and taking them out of circulation, and thus preventing harmful effects on people, animals and the environment – day in, day out, for a sustainable world.
Despite the social and environmental relevance of the role, there were no uniformly trained specialists in the recycling industry until the turn of the millennium. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that the first 25 apprentices started their training – with one year group in German-speaking Switzerland and one in French-speaking Switzerland. In the early years, the focus was on metals and scrap iron, waste electrical and electronic equipment, glass and cardboard, not to mention paper. In 2005, construction waste, plastics and other recyclables were added to the list.
The R-Suisse association was founded in 2008 to further develop training and help prepare the industry in the best way possible for future challenges relating to the circular economy and climate protection. Today, around 50 people start their apprenticeships every year, and around four out of five complete their vocational training with a Federal VET Diploma after three years.
In the three-year training stream, prospective recycling technicians learn all about materials science, recycling techniques and dealing with small and large plants. Refuse, reuse, reduce, recycle and recover: these core principles of the circular economy are also an integral part of the training.
Recycling technicians work out in the open, with their hands as well as with machines large and small. Teamwork is a top priority. Transporting, sorting and processing materials: a VET recycling technician apprenticeship covers all this and much more besides. This gives promising young people meaningful training with a future and social value away from desks and laptops, not to mention a range of development opportunities throughout the industry.
There is no circular economy without recycling technicians. A forward-looking recycling industry is one of the key pillars in the sustainable handling of recyclable materials. This is what makes the implementation of circular economy concepts possible in Switzerland in the first place. There are ongoing innovations that, in coordination with industry, politics and the public sector, can make an important contribution to achieving sustainability goals, particularly in the processing of recyclable materials. Applying these methods in practice requires qualified specialists with solid basic knowledge – in other words, well-trained VET recycling technicians – and a wide range of further training and career opportunities for them.
R-Suisse is the training association for Swiss VET recycling technicians. We are responsible for basic vocational training, for setting the educational objectives and creating the content, and for conveying them. Our sponsor organisations include the recycling associations VSMR, Baustoff Kreislauf Schweiz, FVG, VSPR and Swiss Recycle, as well as all the companies that train recycling technicians.
R-Suisse supports the companies in their training activities and represents the interests of its members in dealings with the federal government, the cantons and other professional organisations. The Board of Directors, the administrative office and various committees ensure ongoing development of training and adaptation to the requirements of future industry professionals. In addition, R-Suisse is constantly working on the quality and development of the profession, currently in the context of the five-year review of the VET Ordinance and the training plan.
In the anniversary year of 2025, the focus will be on raising awareness of the recycling technician profession and focusing on it as a positive, forward-looking job profile. We will achieve this by demonstrating our skills for the first time at Swiss Skills (17–21 September 2025 in Bern), strengthening our network and increasing our social media presence. A wide-level view of our job profile shows what the role of recycling technician can fulfil: enthusiasm for large machines, the desire for meaningful work with a future and willingness to shoulder responsibly for one’s environment.