The Belgian EPR model for packaging waste

EPRO conference 19/05/2016

Marc Adams, Director (a.i.)Interregional Packaging Commission

Contents

• 1. Belgium: a federal state• 2. Federal legislation• 3. Cooperation agreement (of November 4th 2008)

• 4. Accredited organisations• 5. Belgian recycling figures• 6. Role of the regulator • 7. Conclusions

1. Belgium: a federal state

3 Regions:• Flanders (6 mio inhabitants)• Wallonia (4 mio)• Brussels (1 mio)

Regions are competent for waste management

1 uniform collection scheme, but with regional (and local) variations

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Inter-municipalities:• Flanders: 25 (+1 independent municipality)• Wallonia: 7• Brussels: 1

1. Belgium: a federal state

• 3 regions (Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels)

• 3 communities (Flemish, French, German speaking)

• 1 federal state exclusive competences

1. Belgium: a federal state

• Federal state = competent for:– Foreign affairs–Defence– Social security– Income taxes (partly)– Internal (Belgian) market

1. Belgium: a federal state

• Regions & Communities = competent for:– Income taxes (partly)–Culture– Education– Economy– Environment (waste, water, soil, …)

1. Belgium: a federal state

Packaging situation:European packaging directive 94/62/EC (as revised bydirective 2004/12/EC) has 2 major chapters:

– Recycling and recovery targets for packaging waste → Regional competence

– Essential requirements for the marketing of packaging→ Federal competence

Still to be implemented in Belgium: Directive (EU) 2015/720 amending Directive 94/62/EC as regards reducing the consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags

2. Federal legislation

• Federal law concerning product standards of december 21st 1998– Transposition of essential requirements (packaging directive)

– Partial transposition of CEN‐standards

• Ecotax on beverage packaging(Ecotax on “harmful” products like plastic carrier bags – until January 1st 2015)

3. Cooperation agreement

• Inter‐regional Law: valid on the entire Belgian territory 

• 1st version → coopera on agreement of May 30th 1996

• Since 2009: 2nd version → cooperation agreement of November 4th 2008

3. Cooperation agreement

• Responsible company:– Belgian producer (= packer/filler)– Belgian importer– Belgian industrial consumer– Belgian producer/importer of (empty) “service packaging”, i.e. products that are only packedat the point of sale, like carrier bags

• Double responsibility:– Household packaging waste– “Industrial” (i.e. non‐household) packaging waste

3. Cooperation agreement

Obligations:• To meet the recycling and recovery targets 

=> minimum of 300 kilos annually

• To report to the authorities• To introduce a packaging prevention plan (larger responsible companies) => minimum of 300 tons annually (or 100 tons production in Belgium)

3. Cooperation agreement

Recycling and recovery targets for companiesGlobal targets:• 80% overall recycling

– From 2009 for household packaging waste– From 2010 for industrial packaging waste 

• 90% overall recovery for household packaging waste (from 2009)

• 85% overall recovery for industrial packaging waste (from 2010)

3. Cooperation agreement

Recycling and recovery targets for companiesSpecific targets per material:• 50% recycling for metal• 60% recycling for glass • 60% recycling for paper/cardboard• 60% recycling for beverage cartons• 30% (mechanical) recycling for plastics• 15% recycling for wood  

3. Cooperation agreement

• Individual compliance (not frequent)• Accredited organisation:

– Fost Plus for household packaging waste

– VAL‐I‐PAC for “industrial” (i.e. non‐household) packaging waste

4. Accredited organisations

Status:–Private sector initiative–Government accreditation–Non profit organisation–Must cover the totality of Belgium–Must prove recycling and recovery– Strict government control

4. Accredited organisations

Fost Plus collection system:– Intermunicipalities collect household packaging waste for Fost Plus:

• Paper & cardboard (curbside collection)• Coloured & non‐coloured glass (bottle banks)• PMD/PMC‐fraction (curbside collection):

– P = plastic bottles (PET) & flasks (HDPE)– M = metals– D/C = “drink cartons” = “tetra pak”

4. Accredited organisations

4. Accredited organisations

– Fost Plus pays full cost of:• Collection• Sorting of PMD/PMC fraction

– Fost Plus organises recycling of collected & sorted fractions

–At all stages: public tendering procedures

4. Accredited organisations• At the moment we only collect “nationally” certain plastics from households, those that are easily collected and recycled

• BUT: intermunicipalities “locally” already collect and recycle other plastic flows, like EPS, flower pots, plastic films, etc. (for which Fost Plus also pays!)

• AND: we are currently testing the possibilities for an enlarged “national” collection, through pilot schemes:

• All plastics in 1 bag• All rigid plastics in 1 bag• All rigid plastics in 1 bag  + separate bag for films

FOST PLUS IS FINANCED:• FOR LESS THAN 50% BY MEMBERSHIP FEES

• FOR MORE THAN 50% BY SALE OF MATERIALS FORRECYCLING

4. Accredited organisations

Responsible company

Household

Waste

Product

Fost Plus

(Inter)municipalities

Packaging Packaging waste

IRPCFull cost of selective collection of packaging waste

Recyclers

4. Accredited organisations

VAL‐I‐PAC system:– VAL‐I‐PAC doesn’t organise collection or recycling of industrial packaging waste

– VAL‐I‐PAC gathers data on collection andrecycling from private waste collectors –collectors have to give proof of recycling

– VAL‐I‐PAC gives financial incentives toindustrial consumers aimed at increasingselective collection

4. Accredited organisations

Responsible company

Industrial consumerWaste

Product

VAL-I-PAC

Waste collectors

Packaging Packaging waste

IRPC

Recyclers

Financial incentive for sorting of packaging waste

5. Belgian recycling figures: Fost Plus

5. Belgian recycling figures: VAL-I-PAC

5. Belgian recycling figures: figures reported to Eurostat

5. Belgian recycling figures

• Recycling figures are only mechanicalrecycling

• Chemical recycling is not (yet) acceptedin the recycling figures, but is considered“recovery”

• Fost Plus recycling is easier to monitor, because Fost Plus organizes the recycling itself

European Commission study, available on:http://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/waste/eu_guidance/index.html

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Fair competition is not synonymous with competion between packaging recovery organisations

6. Role of the regulator (IRPC)• To responsabilize industry (the responsiblecompanies) AND to defend the interest of the public, for instance:– To approve the collection scheme proposed by the accredited

organisation, but also “enlarge” it, when necessary– To make sure everybody gets a correct and just payment

(for instance, in the not household sector, smaller companies)

• To make sure that the data are 100% correct!• To control and to sanction the remaining free‐riders! This is important for the functioning of the system

6. Role of the regulator 

• IRPC has a double structure:– Staff : civil servants– Board of Directors : for each of the Regions, politicalrepresentatives and representatives of the waste administrations (OVAM, Bruxelles‐environnement, Office wallon des Déchets)

• Limited resources:– IRPC has a staff of only 20 civil servants– IRPC has e yearly budget (excluding personnel costs) of under 1.000.000 EUR

6. Role of the regulator 

• Sanctionning of free‐riders:– Administrative fines : 1000 EUR per ton not recycled(and 500 EUR per ton not recovered)

– Criminal sanctions (by a penal judge) : 1 month – 1 year of imprisonment AND/OR 6.000 EUR ‐12.000.000 EUR penal fines

6. Role of the regulator 

Not the role of the regulator = to control all members of the accredited organisations– Members’ declarations are controled by the accredited organisations – principle of selfcontrol

– IRPC prefers to control the control procedures on its efficiency – to do this, a sample of members’ declarations must be checked

6. Role of the regulator 

Also for the recycling figures, the regulator imposes its control procedures on the accredited organisations, BUT it shares the end responsability for the correctness of the figures:‐ In the accreditation text of VAL‐I‐PAC a complex procedure is imposed, which included a programme for controls on recycling (after trading) in the Far East

‐ The IRPC does its own “double‐check” 

7. Conclusions

• These is a need for a stable legal framework – it takes time to create an efficiently functioning system  

• Communication to the public is very important –contradictions have to be avoided at all cost – it’s very useful to have just 1 collection scheme (with several variations) on the entire Belgian territory

• Controllability is paramount! The gov. administration must be able to verify all the data and to certify that the recycling/recovery targets were really met

7. Conclusionson competition

• Competition needs to be guaranteed, but not necessarily on the organisational level!

• When there is competition between accredited organisations: a level playing field needs to be created! Without a level playing field, there is no fair/honest competition

7. Conclusionson competition

• Belgium has a fully functional competition (on the operational level) AND the scale advantages of an organisational monopoly

• In Belgium accredited organisations have to be “non for profit”– This is the best guarantee that there won’t be an abuse of 

monopoly– This also guarantees prices are as low as they possibly can be– There are no profit margins to fill!

7. Conclusions

• Important to develop and support selective collection at the source and act agains incivilities (littering, incorrect sorting,…)

• Important to collect (selectively at the source) for recycling only! This means making choices!

• Economic instruments can be very helpful, when used properly (landfill‐bans, taxation on waste incineration, pay‐as‐you‐throw) – they can also be very harmful, when used incorrectly

Thank you for your attention!

To contact us:– www.ivcie.be– m.adams@ivcie.be– Tel: 02/209 03 60– Fax: 02/209 03 98