Belgium
Belgium has become a world champion when it comes to the sorting and recycling of household packaging waste. This leading position was achieved not only because the vast majority of Belgian citizens sort their waste in a very responsible manner, but also because Fost Plus has implemented an easy and efficient system. Each party involved has a clearly designated role to play. These parties include the citizens, producers and importers of packaged products and packaging, public authorities, municipalities and inter-municipal authorities, and the companies that collect, sort and recycle the packaging materials.
Fost Plus introduced the system of selective collection in 1994 and continues investing in its further optimization. Fost Plus actively encourages citizens to sort properly and respect the guidelines
Legal basis
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In Belgium, the Walloon Region, the Flemish Region, and the Brussels-Capital Region are responsible for waste management policy. In 1996, they agreed on a Cooperation Agreement on the prevention and management of packaging waste. A new version of the agreement came into force in 2009.
The Cooperation Agreement requires every company which has packaged or arranged for the packaging of products sold in Belgium to take back its used packaging in order to achieve the prescribed recycling and recovery rates:
- 80% recycling and 90% recovery in total
- a minimum of 15 to 60% recycling, depending on the packaging material.
Facts and figures
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Data 2012
| Population | 11 mil. |
| No. of local authorities |
11 mil. inhabitants covered by system 589 municipalities |
| No. of companies in system | 5,200 members |
| Packaging introduced to the market |
750,000 tons representing about 92% of all packaging materials brought onto the Belgian market |
| Recovered waste |
700,000 tons of packaging are recycled 92% of the packaging collected is recycled 95% is recovered |
| Types of packaging | Household packaging or equivalents |
Packaging organisation/s in Belgium:
