International Review of Waste Management Policy - Department of ...

265
� The industrial federations that effect an environmental policy agreement with
the governments.
� The industry bodies specified in the frame of the policy agreements.
� The individual producers of goods that have to join these notified bodies.
� The individual producers of waste or the waste collectors that report to the
notified bodies.
� The reuse centres and the civic amenity sites that are active in the collection
of EPR-wastes – the costs of which are to be remunerated.
In the following paragraphs the relevant organisations and their key tasks are
explained in more detail for every Flemish EPR system.
15.3.1 Packaging Waste
In Belgium the European Packaging Directive has been translated as a take-back
obligation, with producers being responsible for meeting the targets. It is up to each
producer to decide how to meet the targets, whether that is via their own collection,
sorting and recycling systems or via an accredited organisation.
The implementation of the take-back obligation is realised through the establishment
of an interregional secretariat (IVCIE), uniting the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels
Regions of Belgium, and national industry bodies FOST-Plus and VAL-I-PAC. FOST-Plus
organises the collection of household waste in collaboration with the intermunicipal
utility companies that organise selective collection rounds for paper, and for the
combined stream of plastic packaging, metal packaging and beverage cartons. VAL-I-
PAC organises mainly the data gathering on industrial packaging waste and creates
incentives for companies to sort this kind of waste. The split between household and
industrial waste is roughly 50/50. 278 Companies are not obliged to join one or both
organisations, but can instead opt to fulfil their take-back obligations individually. In
this case they have to report directly to the IVCIE.
Parties responsible for household packaging that join FOST-Plus sign an open ended
agreement (which can be terminated each year) with FOST-Plus. They make a yearly
declaration of the weight, type and quantity of packaging they put on the Belgian
market. They then pay a fee (using the Green Dot tariff) depending on the material
and the weight of that material placed onto the market. Simpler declaration systems
are in place for smaller companies. 279
Intermunicipalities (waste management services that cover a number of
municipalities) are responsible for dealing with waste in their area and sign a
standard five year agreement with FOST-Plus. They can either use their own collection
infrastructure or contract it out to a waste management company (through a tender
process managed by the intermunicipality and supervised by FOST-Plus). There is
278 IVC activiteitenverslag (2007) Annual report IVCIE, Dutch.
279 FOST-Plus (2007) Annual report, English version available.
International Review of Waste Policy: Annexes