Waste and recycling basics (Vaud communes)

Last checked: 5 Oct 2026. Unofficial student guide, not EPFL or government advice: confirm on the linked official pages before you act. Unfamiliar abbreviation? See the Glossary.

Items marked To verify are not published by the commune. Collection days, déchèterie hours, and taxe de base amounts vary by commune, always check your commune’s page for your address.

First rule: look up your commune

Waste rules in Vaud are communal (with regional “périmètre” systems). Your flat’s address determines:

• whether you use taxed bags or taxe au poids (weight-based),
• collection days,
• déchèterie / écopoint locations,
• what goes in which stream.

If you live in a student hall, ask the hall what they provide (some buildings already have containers and calendars). EPFL’s campus sits across several communes (often Ecublens, Lausanne, Renens, St-Sulpice, and others), studying at EPFL does not mean your bags follow Lausanne rules.

Canton-level context (Cour des comptes, rapport n° 85): as of end 2023, more than 85% of the Vaud population, in 237 communes, used the regional taxed-bag system « Trier c’est valoriser »; other communes use different arrangements (including weight-based taxation).

Sources:

• État de Vaud, Cour des comptes rapport n° 85 (taxe au sac)
• Synthèse rapport n° 85 (PDF)
• Analyse composition ordures ménagères vaudoises 2024 (PDF)

Canton legal framework (system, not shelf prices)

État de Vaud explains pollueur-payeur / causalité and points to LGD art. 30a (quantity-based tax + base tax) on the DGE financement page. That page does not list shop bag prices. It explains why taxed bags exist; for prices, use your commune's page.

• État de Vaud: Déchets (hub)
• État de Vaud: Gérer les déchets (financement, prévention, information)
• DGE notice PDF linked from that page: GEODE-Gestion-Dechets-WEB.pdf (communal financing guide; not a consumer price list)

Bag prices still vary by system and by published commune table (Lausanne and Ecublens are cited separately below; they disagree on 35 L). Check your commune page and the shop shelf; there is no single kit-wide CHF figure.

Taxed bags (« Trier c’est valoriser »)

In communes that joined the harmonised regional system:

• Household rubbish that cannot be recycled goes in the official white bag labelled « Trier c’est valoriser » (Lausanne: other colours such as grey, black, transparent are forbidden for household refuse).
• Bags are sold in local shops in participating communes.
• Prices differ by commune. Commune pages disagree on the 35 L bag (Lausanne CHF 1.95 vs Ecublens CHF 2.00, 5 Oct 2026), so check the table for the commune on your lease.

Regional price page (claim of region-wide identical prices): vaud-taxeausac.ch, Le prix du sac
Regional FAQ: vaud-taxeausac.ch, FAQ
(To verify: the regional price table on vaud-taxeausac.ch. Use your commune page for prices and the Canton pages above for how the system works. For St-Sulpice shop prices, see the St-Sulpice section below.)

Ville de Lausanne bag prices (Lausanne residents)

Source (Lausanne only): Ville de Lausanne, Sacs taxés et taxe de base (as published on 5 Oct 2026).

Do not use the Lausanne table if your commune publishes a different table, uses taxe au poids, or is outside the regional TAS. Confirm on your commune’s déchets page.

Commune d’Ecublens bag prices (Ecublens residents)

Source (Ecublens only): Ecublens, Gestion des déchets (as published on 5 Oct 2026). Ecublens also points to vaud-taxeausac.ch and states the municipal taxe de base is reimbursed as a social measure.

35 L mismatch: Lausanne publishes CHF 1.95 / roll CHF 19.50; Ecublens publishes CHF 2.00 / roll CHF 20.00. Other sizes match on both pages (1.00 / 3.80 / 6.00). Use the table for your commune; do not use a blended regional 35 L price.

Lausanne only, taxe de base

Ville de Lausanne also describes a taxe de base on building volume paid by owners (may be passed to tenants via the lease): CHF 0.24 HT per m³ on that page. This amount is Lausanne-specific, other communes set their own taxe de base (or refund it, Ecublens states its taxe de base is reimbursed as a social measure).

Source: same Lausanne sacs taxés page

EPFL-area commune pointers (official pages only)

Use these as starting points; hours and calendars change, download the current dépliant from the commune site.

Ecublens (many EPFL addresses)

• Hub: Ecublens, Gestion des déchets
• Official taxed bags required; points to vaud-taxeausac.ch; VALORSA périmètre. Bag prices: see Ecublens table above (35 L = CHF 2.00), not the Lausanne table.
• Déchèterie (Chemin de Verney 15): Mon & Wed 13:30–17:30 (until 18:00 1 Apr–31 Oct); Sat 09:30–16:30. Access badge required, Ecublens states CHF 10 per badge at the service des habitants (Place du Motty 4), max one per inhabitant; refundable if returned working.
• ECOpoints (chemin du Bochet; site scolaire du Pontet): Mon–Sat 07:00–20:00.
• Door-to-door compostables collection (Transvoirie SA, weekly), brown PEHD containers; no bags left at the roadside.
• Mobile déchèterie: last Saturday of the month 08:00–12:00 at Pontet (ferraille, wood, pierreux, bulky > 60 cm).

Source: Ecublens page above (hours and badge price as published on 5 Oct 2026).

Renens

• Renens, Collecte des déchets (confirmed 5 Oct 2026: household refuse in taxed bags on Tuesday (zone 1) or Thursday (zone 2), biowaste Monday plus Thursday from June to September, paper/cardboard Wednesday, glass one Friday a month; all 2026 dates in the Info-déchets 2026 leaflet (PDF))
• Renens, Comment trier ?
• Renens uses taxed bags + a communal taxe de base framework (2013 règlement / préavis). The Budget 2026 (PDF) still budgets the citizens' base tax (« Taxe de base citoyens », account 3631.4342.01, CHF 1'220'000 in total) and the matching « Subvention communale » (account 1075.3666.00, section « Soutien à la population », CHF 1'318'900 in total), the account the 2013 préavis created for the subsidy. Per-person CHF is not published there (budget totals only; not a per-person rate).
• Renens waste regulation (PDF, art. 12, 2013 text still posted on renens.ch): maximum bag taxes incl. VAT of 17 L CHF 1.25, 35 L CHF 2.50, 60 L CHF 4.75, 110 L CHF 7.50 (legal caps, not shop prices; the Renens page lists the white bag in 35, 60 and 110 L), and a maximum taxe de base of CHF 120 per year incl. VAT per inhabitant over 18, set by your situation on 1 January. Renens publishes no shelf price or current base tax amount, so both stay To verify. Details on Waste by EPFL-area commune.

St-Sulpice

• Hub: St-Sulpice, Collecte des déchets
• Déchèterie des Jordils (Rue du Centre 138):
  • 1 Apr–31 Oct: Mon & Wed 16:00–18:45, Sat 08:15–12:00
  • 1 Nov–31 Mar: Wed 15:00–16:45, Sat 08:15–12:00
  • Closed public holidays (incl. Easter Saturday weekend and 31 Dec).
• Tyres / rims at the déchèterie: CHF 10 per tyre / CHF 10 per rim, pay in advance at Service des finances (commune page).
• Directives 2026 (mode de collecte, taxe forfaitaire, mesures d’accompagnement) are linked from that page, open them for current bag/taxe rules.
• Bag tax maximums in the communal waste regulation (Art. 15, VAT incl.): 17 L CHF 1.25, 35 L CHF 2.50, 60 L CHF 4.75, 110 L CHF 7.50 (Règlement communal sur la gestion des déchets (PDF)). Legal caps only; the shop price is not published.
• Commune lists VALORSA among useful links.

Source: St-Sulpice page above.

Lausanne

• Lausanne, Sacs taxés et taxe de base (bag prices + taxe m³ above)

What usually goes for separate collection

Exact streams and schedules are commune-specific. Typical separate streams in Vaud (confirm locally):

• Paper / cardboard
• Glass
• PET / aluminium / tin (often shop return or écopoints)
• Organic / biodéchets (where a separate collection exists, e.g. Ecublens compostables)
• Batteries, electronics, textiles, bulky waste (déchèterie / special collections; shops must take back similar products they sell, Ecublens flyer)

Canton communications (Mar 2026 communiqué on the 2024 composition study) stress that a large share of what still ends up in taxed bags could have been sorted (biodéchets and plastics especially).

Source: État de Vaud, “autopsie” des ordures ménagères

Practical first-week steps

1. Identify your commune from your address (it may not be Lausanne even if you study at EPFL).
2. Open the commune’s déchets / recyclage page (or ask the housing office / hall).
3. Buy the correct official bags if your commune uses taxe au sac, or learn how taxe au poids works if it does not.
4. Note collection days and nearest écopoint / déchèterie (To verify on your commune site, hours above are commune-specific snapshots).
5. For Lausanne: bag rules and taxe de base are on lausanne.ch, sacs taxés. For Ecublens / Renens / St-Sulpice: use the commune links in the section above.

Before you throw usable items away: reuse points, repair cafés and charity shops are on Second hand, reuse and repair.

Gaps: to verify

• Ecublens 35 L = CHF 2.00 (commune table); Lausanne 35 L = CHF 1.95 (Ville table). Cite each separately; no single regional 35 L figure.
• To verify: Renens current taxe de base amount (not stated on the commune's waste pages or its 2026 Info-déchets leaflet; the collection calendar is confirmed above). Historical context: Renens préavis 33-2013 (PDF) set CHF 90 TTC per adult for 2013, a ceiling of CHF 120 TTC, children under 18 exempt, and a commune subsidy equal to the billed base tax for private persons (not the 2026 amount). The commune's Budget 2026 (PDF) still lists « Taxe de base citoyens » (CHF 1'220'000 total) and the « Subvention communale » in section 1075 « Soutien à la population » (CHF 1'318'900 total), i.e. the subsidy account set up by préavis 33-2013 is still budgeted for 2026. Still To verify: the 2026 per-adult amount, and whether the subsidy still equals the full billed tax (the budget gives totals only; Renens has no public page with a per-person figure).
• St-Sulpice (confirmed 5 Oct 2026): Directive 2 (2026) sets the individual taxe forfaitaire at CHF 100.00 per year, excl. VAT from 1 Jan 2026. Children and teenagers are exempt until the calendar year after their 18th birthday; if you arrive or leave during the year, it is charged by whole months, pro rata (Directive 2, 2026 (PDF)). Directive 3 (2026): a household with several young adults aged 18 to 25 who have no earned income is billed for at most three people, and people receiving PC AVS/AI, PC Familles or RI can ask in writing for an exemption within 30 days of receiving the invoice (Directive 3, 2026 (PDF)). Shop bag prices: check the shop shelf (Lausanne and Ecublens figures are not St-Sulpice).
• To verify with your hall or landlord: whether bags or a shared container are already included in your rent (this differs by building; no commune page covers it).
• To verify: the regional price and FAQ pages on vaud-taxeausac.ch. For CHF, use the table published by your own commune (Lausanne and Ecublens above).
• To verify: St-Sulpice shop bag prices. The communal regulation gives only maximums of CHF 1.25 / 2.50 / 4.75 / 7.50 for 17 / 35 / 60 / 110 L, and the 2026 directives do not list a shop price. Lausanne and Ecublens figures are not St-Sulpice prices.