G/TBT/N/CHE/183
10 October 2014 
(14-5758)  Page: 1/2
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English
 
  NOTIFICATION 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member: SWITZERLAND  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):    
2. Agency responsible: Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) 
Name and address (including telephon e and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :  
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO 
Holzikofenweg 36 
3003 Berne Fax +41 (0)58 464 09 58 tbt@seco.admin.ch   
http://www.seco.admin.ch   
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applic able, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable): Solid biofuels - Wood 
pellets (ISO 17225-2:2014 Solid biofuels - Fuel specifications and classes - Part 2: Graded 
wood pellets); Solid biofuels - Wood briquettes (ISO 17225-3:2014 Fuel specifications and classes - Part 3: Graded wood briquettes) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Draft revision of 
the Ordinance on Air Pollution Control (OAPC) (16 pages available in French, German and Italian) 
6. Description of content: Three international standards in the ISO 17225 series entered 
into force in 2014 which regulate the general (ISO 17225-1) and specific requirements 
relating to wood pellets (ISO 17225-2) and wood briquettes (ISO 17225-3). The specific 
requirements regulate, among others, the maximum content of moisture and ash, as well as trace elements including cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and mercury. The ISO 
standards also distinguish between three quality categories of pellets and briquettes for 
commercial and residential applications.  
In the revised Ordinance on Air Pollution Control, the requirements specified in categories 
A1 and A2 of the respective standard have to be met in order for pellets and briquettes 
made from natural wood to be used as a biofuel. This means that the basis exists for controlling the quality of these wood-based fuels. The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) is therefore able to monitor compliance, in particular with Athe requirements 
relating to maximum concentrations of pollutants, within the scope of its activities as 
supervisory authority. By this FOEN can ensure that no pellets or briquettes are brought onto the market that contain polluted residual or waste wood and thus produce higher and 
unnecessary pollutant emissions. As before, pellets or briquettes classified in quality 
category B, and other products such as pellets made from non-wood-based biomass, may be brought onto the market in Switzerland, but they are not classified as natural wood and 
the ovens in which they are used are therefor e subject to higher requirements. They may G/TBT/N/CHE/183 
 
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  not be burned in "normal" small wood stov es (up to 40 kW), and – depending on the 
quality category – may only be used in specially designated residual or waste wood stoves, waste incineration plants or furnaces intended for burning agricultural waste. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
One of the problems associated with processed wood-based fuels such as pellets and 
briquettes concerns the fact that it is not possible to see whether treated or polluted (i.e. 
residual or waste) wood has been used for its production. For this reason, Switzerland would like to adopt the quality requirements of the corresponding standards in the 
ISO 17225 series into its Ordinance on Air Pollution Control and declare them as legally 
binding for pellets and briquettes that are classified as products made of natural wood. This will ensure that wood-based fuels of th is type, which are brought onto the market for 
use in small stoves, meet the specified requirements for natural wood and do not contain 
elements such as chlorine, arsenic, cadmium,  chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel or 
zinc. 
8. Relevant documents:   
• Swiss Environmental Protection Act (EPA) http://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-
compilation/19830267/  
• Ordinance on Air Pollution Control (OAPC) http://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-
compilation/19850321/index.html  
9. Proposed date of adoption:   1 July 2015 
Proposed date of entry into force:   1 July 2015   
10. Final date for comments: 31 December 2014 
11. Texts available from: Nati onal enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:    
http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2014/tbt/che/14_4444_00_f.pdf   
http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2014/tbt/che/14_4444_00_x1.pdf   
http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2014/tbt/che/14_4444_00_x2.pdf