Sustainability pays off – everything you need to know about the 2025 Green Dot rates

Every summer, Fost Plus publishes the Green Dot rates that Belgian companies will pay for the packaging they put on the market in the coming year. The Green Dot system is used to fund the collection and recycling of packaging. Companies that invest in sustainability are rewarded: thanks to the eco-modulation principle, more recyclable materials benefit from a lower rate.

The 2025 Green Dot rates apply to all household packaging that companies will put on the market in 2025 and declare to Fost Plus in early 2026. This will give them enough time to integrate the rates into their budgets for the coming year and continue to look for better and more sustainable alternatives where necessary.

Based on real costs

The rates are recalculated every year on the basis of the real cost deficit for each material. In practical terms, for each material we prepare an overview of the costs that we incur to collect, sort and recycle. The revenue from the sale of the materials is also taken into account. This way, we ensure that all our members make a correct and fair contribution to the system, based on real, current costs.

Notable trends and developments

Every year, we see some notable developments in the Green Dot rates. Macroeconomic factors such as inflation and sharply fluctuating material prices have a major impact on the rates, as do developments in legislation. The impact of our new accreditation is also making itself felt. This runs from 2024 to 2028 and introduces a number of additional obligations and costs, including for glass and paper-cardboard.

The rate for non-recyclable materials is more than double the highest recyclable rate. In this way, we provide an additional incentive for companies to switch to recyclable alternatives as soon as possible. This transition is also in line with the commitment made by the sectors concerned to put only recyclable packaging on the market by 2025.

Ambitious recycling goals

In order to meet Belgium's ambitious recycling targets, we have invested heavily in recent years in the development of new recycling solutions and additional in-house recycling capacity. All these efforts obviously involve higher costs, which are factored into the fees paid by our members.

And we are constantly increasing our efforts. This year, for instance, we have started the first tests for sorting and recycling opaque PET trays. As a result, from 2025, these will no longer fall into the non-recyclable category and will therefore receive a separate Green Dot rate, reflecting the estimated processing costs.

All these efforts result in excellent recycling rates year after year. In 2023, we recycled no less than 97% of all packaging put on the Belgian market by our members. For household plastic packaging, we achieved a recycling rate of 68%, amply exceeding the Belgian target of 65%. In this way, we ensure that Belgian companies not only meet their legal obligations but can also get a good head start on future European targets.