As of 1 April 2021, the expanded plastic collection that citizens are familiar with via the New Blue Bag will also go into effect for companies.
This means that almost all plastic household packaging waste will be sorted as PMD, both at home and at work. Fost Plus and Valipac, respectively responsible for the recycling chain of household and commercial packaging waste, are also launching a large-scale recruitment campaign to make companies aware of their sorting obligation.
The New Blue Bag is gradually being introduced throughout Belgium. This gradual approach was necessary to give all parties involved, including the new sorting centres required to process these extra packaging materials, sufficient time to prepare. The system will be uniform for households in Brussels, Flanders and the majority of Wallonia as of 1 April. The last French-speaking intermunicipal companies will make the switch after the summer. Because almost all plastic packaging waste is now collected selectively, about 8 kg of extra waste per inhabitant will be recycled.
After all, there is nothing more comfortable than sorting packaging waste in the same uniform manner at home and at work.
At the same time, the expanded plastic collection starts for all companies and organisations. So at work, the sports club or an amusement park, not only may bottles and cans now be placed in the PMD, but also plastic bags, trays and yoghurt containers. A pilot project in Colruyt Group's administrative buildings and shops showed that this uniform sorting message was very well received. After all, there is nothing more comfortable than sorting packaging waste in the same uniform manner at home and at work.
Industry and trade have made ambitious commitments to reduce the impact of packaging waste on the environment. By collecting more PMD, we are taking important steps towards meeting three major recycling targets by 2023:
- Achieve a 65% recycling rate for household plastic packaging.
- Double the amount of PMD collected outside the home compared to 2018.
- Collect and sort 90% of all beverage packaging.
For more information, go to www.sorterenophetwerk.be