New renters moving into apartments in the city of Geneva are to receive environmental kits designed to encourage residents to recycle more. The kits, to be distributed by landlords to tenants starting in April, consist of a plastic compost container containing a portable ash tray for cigarette butts, a calendar from the city garbage department and several information pamphlets.

Five thousand kits are to be distributed as part of a cleanup campaign designed to improve recycling and reduce the piles of unsightly refuse that clutter many city streets. Raoul Schrumpf, head of the city’s urban environment department, acknowledged that many residents appear to be unaware of where to put recyclables.

In some neighbourhoods, residents mix plastic bottles with regular trash, while others simply dump plastic bags with a mix of trash and recyclables near receptacles designed to take glass bottles and cans. Schrumpf told Swisster the environmental kits are meant to inform newcomers, including expats, about the available services. While the brochures are in French, they include “pictograms” that can be readily understood by Anglophones and other non-Francophones, he said.

The garbage collection service sends out calendars annually to all residents that also explain information about the recycling services. Apartment buildings are provided with separate bins for garbage, paper and cardboard and for compostable food waste (placed in plastic bags). Other receptacles taking bottles, cans and old batteries are dotted about the city, while supermarkets such as Coop and Migros offer containers for the return of used plastic bottles.

Geneva, a latecomer to recycling compared to some parts of Switzerland – notably in the German-speaking part of the country, does not yet have facilities to take other kinds of recyclable plastic. Garbage in Geneva is burned in an incineration plant at the western part of the canton, which has ironically encountered operational difficulties because increased recycling has cut the flow of garbage needed to operate the plant at an optimal level.

Schrumpf noted that the city of Geneva operates one service that is unique in the country. “It is the only city in Switzerland that offers a free pickup service for old furniture (and furnishings).” The municipality has four trucks devoted to circulating around the city daily to pick up such belongings, including Christmas trees, for disposal.

Residents simply phone 080 022 42 22 to arrange pickup from designated spots outside apartment buildings – usually on boulevard space or sidewalks, wherever there is sufficient room.

The pickup will usually take place “within several days,” said Schrumpf, noting that crews time their visits to different neighbourhoods so they can pick up as much stuff at a time as possible. Information about such pickups is included in the environmental kit, as well as the calendars, he said. The free pickup is meant to discourage people from simply dumping rubbish on the streets.

The distribution of the environmental kits is part of a wider plan, promoted by municipal councillor Pierre Maudet to spruce up the appearance of the city. Dubbed “un esprit pour une ville nette,” the programme calls for systematic patrols to remove refuse from streets on a more prompt basis. A pilot project has been undertaken in the Jonction neighbourhood.

Other aspects of the plan include a graffiti removal scheme, steps to clean up the city’s Lake Geneva waterfront paths and the use of racks to recover discarded free newspapers.

The city has announced a partnership with businesses such as McDonald’s, Migros and Manor to limit the impact of litter near their premises. In addition, it is offering training for building managers and concierges to educate them about garbage and recycling issues.