Questions

1.What are the recycling and recovery targets?

Vanaf 2010 zijn dit de doelstellingen voor recyclage en nuttige toepassing:

 

Household packaging waste

 

 Industrial/commercial packaging waste

 
Recycling 80% 80%
 

Recycling & other recovery

 

 90% 85%

In addition, the minimum recycling percentages to be achieved in Belgium per material are as follows:

Material Percentage by weight
Glass 60%
Paper/cardboard 60%
Drink cartons 60%
Metals 50%
Wood 15%
Plastics (exclusively recycled back into plastics) 30%

2.Do I have to provide a packaging prevention plan to the Interregional Packaging Commission?

You must submit a prevention plan if:

  • you place at least 300 tonnes of one-way packaging on the market per year

OR

  • you use at least 100 tonnes of one-way packaging per year to package products (or have them packaged) for the Belgian market

In all other cases, you do not have to submit a prevention plan.

Tip: various trade associations draw up a sectoral prevention plan for their members. Contact your association for further information

3.As a party responsible for packaging (“responsible company”), am I always subject to the take-back obligation?

No, not always. If you place less than 300 kg of packaging on the Belgian market, you are exempt from the take-back obligation.

4.Who is responsible for service packaging (e.g. sandwich bags)?

Any party that produces or imports service packaging is considered the responsible company, as stipulated in article 2(20)(d) of the Cooperation Agreement.

5.What happens if I am not a member of Fost Plus or Valipac?

The advantage of being a member of an accredited compliance organisation is that you are in compliance with the reporting and take-back obligations. However, membership of Fost Plus or Valipac is not an obligatory requirement. In that case, you will have to fulfill your reporting and take-back obligations yourself.

If the IRPC carries out checks and finds you are not in compliance, you risk sanctions such as an administrative fine, prosecution or an official report.

Interregional Packaging Commission (IRPC)