Household packaging waste management in Belgium
Fost Plus
Fost Plus activities
The Belgian results - a true success story
Prevention of packaging and packaging waste
Continuously optimising the system
Fost Plus facts and figures

Household packaging waste management in Belgium

When it comes to recycling, Belgium is one of the most advanced countries in Europe - and an example for others.

Its three regions have turned European Directive 94/62/EC, on the need to avoid and/or reduce the impact of packaging waste on the environment, into a Cooperation Agreement concerning packaging waste prevention and management. By recycling and sorting packaging well, consumers help not only save on raw materials and energy, but also reduce the quantity incinerated or land-filled.

Fost Plus

Distributors, producers and importers must all achieve recovery and recycling targets set for packaging waste by the European Directives 94/62/EC and 2004/12/EC, which set minimum recovery targets of 60 per cent and recycling targets of between 55 and 80 per cent by weight. In Belgium the Cooperation Agreement improves on this with a recovery target of 80 per cent and a recycling target of 50 per cent, with a minimum of 15 per cent for each material. Under law, each party responsible for packaging has the option of joining an accredited organisation to carry out the recovery and recycling process.

In Belgium, the accredited body for household packaging is Fost Plus, which was created as a result of voluntary action by the private sector and organises waste management in co-operation with industry, consumers, municipalities, recyclers and others. Every year, Fost Plus members have to declare how much household packaging they have placed on the Belgian market and Fost Plus fulfils the household packaging take-back obligation in a sustainable, effective, economically justifiable and environmentally friendly way.

Fost Plus activities

Fost Plus signs standard agreements with the inter-municipal authorities for a five-year period during which the local authorities and Fost Plus join forces to reach the specific recovery and recycling targets. The inter-municipal authorities organise applications for tenders from private waste management companies on the basis of jointly agreed specifications. In other cases, the authorities carry out the collection and sorting themselves.

Fost Plus not only covers the total direct costs related to all agreed operations for collection and sorting, but also covers vital communication campaigns. The collected and sorted packaging is allocated to recyclers on the basis of invitations to tender with detailed specifications. The selection of the recyclers is supervised by a joint committee of inter-municipalities, an Interregional Packaging Commission and Fost Plus. The standard collection and sorting scheme organized in Belgium covers glass, paper/cardboard, plastic bottles and flasks, metal packaging and drink cartons.

The Belgian results - a true success story

In 1994, only 47 kilos of packaging and waste paper were sorted and collected per inhabitant in Belgium. By 2006 this was up to 116 kilos per inhabitant, mainly thanks to the very high level of participation of the Belgian inhabitants.

To help increase participation, Fost Plus has created a number of publicity campaigns, with a special emphasis on communication with young people. Consequently, not only the quantity but also the quality of the packaging waste collected is continuously increasing.

Thanks to the efforts of both the public and the private sector, the Belgian recycling rate for household packaging increased from 28 per cent in 1995 to 84 per cent in 2006. In the same period the disposal of packaging waste decreased from 46 per cent to less than six per cent.

Prevention of packaging and packaging waste

As well as fostering recovery and recycling of packaging waste, Fost Plus and the Belgian industry have put a lot of effort into the prevention of packaging and packaging waste in the last decade, with initiatives including:

• A reduction of packaging, not just on products but also on product batches and during transport.
• Changes in package dimensions to improve the way packages can be stored and transported.
• Better adaptation of product packaging to product batches.
• Use of less material in packaging to reduce the use of raw materials and improve recycling rates.

P&G has been an active partner in this effort. One such P&G example is shown here for the Dreft brand (Fairy). The Dreft bottles were improved significantly in the past. The amount of plastic used in a 1-litre bottle was reduced from 70 grams (1974) to around 40 grams (2005) (blue bars on the graph). The product has also become considerably more efficient over time (meaning that the dosage is now much less than in the past). This results in an even bigger decrease of the amount of plastic used 'per job' (red curve on the graph).

As a result, and despite increasing out-of-home consumption and demographic trends such as a growth in smaller households, the quantity of packaging put on the market in Belgium has remained stable over the past few years.

Continuously optimising the system

Even though more than 90 per cent of all household packaging placed on the Belgian market by Fost Plus members is being recycled at a cost of less than €10 per annum and inhabitant, Fost Plus is continuously improving the system. Current enhancements include offering new systems for data management, both for members and waste management partners, and online services to be increasingly provided in the near future.

Fost Plus facts and figures

• 5,898 companies signed up with Fost Plus
• All communities (except for one) participating in the collection and sorting system
• 92 per cent of inhabitants participating in the collection and sorting of household packaging
• 63 kilos of household packaging collected per annum per inhabitant
• More than 80 per cent of household packaging recycled
• €100 million cost of operating the system
• Less than €10 cost per annum per inhabitant
• 2,500 jobs created

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