Polluter pays principle

In Swiss environmental law, the polluter pays principle means that costs of avoiding, limiting or repairing pollution should not be shifted to the public where a responsible polluter can be identified. It supports charges, cleanup orders, waste and wastewater fees, and liability rules. The principle is not always identical to fault-based liability: operators may bear costs because their activity creates a risk or burden. In practice, questions often concern causation, several responsible parties, proportional allocation and the limits of economic reasonableness.