Bins
Bins
The cantons are responsible for planning the management of their waste, in accordance with Article 31 of the Federal Law on the Protection of the Environment. Geneva gave concrete form to this responsibility in its Waste Management Act of 20 May 1999 (LGD), and the canton of Vaud did likewise in an identically-named law of 5 September 2006. Article 12 of the LGD/GE entrusts the communes with the task of organising the collection, transport and disposal of household waste free of charge to households, unless special services are provided. Article 43 of the same law stipulates that anyone contravening the rules or orders issued by the competent authority is liable to an administrative fine of between CHF 200 and CHF 400,000. Article 36 of the LGD/VD states that any infringement of the law or its implementing decisions is punishable by a fine of up to CHF 50,000. The penalties for unlawful behaviour are therefore severe, to say the least, and some communes in both Geneva and Vaud have issued by-laws prohibiting non-residents from using communal waste sorting or recovery facilities. It should be noted that Geneva is the last canton in French-speaking Switzerland that does not yet have a bag tax, so it is more likely that residents of neighbouring regions will be tempted to dispose of their household waste at the end of the lake, in breach of the regulations in force. Your misadventure is all the more unfortunate because it was motivated by an eco-responsible feeling, but if someone reported you, seeing that your vehicle was registered outside the canton concerned, the resulting fine would appear to be lawful.
