Thirty years of the blue bag - How comfort creates a favourable context for user participation
The first blue bags appeared on the streets of Belgium in 1994. Thirty years later, they are more relevant than ever before. Moreover, the daily sorting efforts put in by every citizen form the foundation of a successful circular economy.
When Fost Plus introduced selective PMD collection in Belgium 30 years ago, this was still an absolute first in Europe. Since then, many countries have followed our example. Today, the blue bag is part of our daily lives. We can almost no longer imagine a scenario where we do not sort our packaging.
The blue bag puts citizen comfort first. And that has undoubtedly been the key to its success. Everyone agrees that waste management is the first step towards creating a sustainable society. But in everyday life, citizens expect to be provided with an easy way to do the right thing.
The accessibility of door-to-door collection and the simple sorting message create a favourable context to allow everyone to easily participate in the system, thus contributing to a better environment. Because without sorting, no recycling is possible.
The blue bag puts citizen comfort first. And that has undoubtedly been the key to its success.
The blue bag moves with the times
The blue bag has continued to evolve over the years, Initially, the “P” in PMD still stood for plastic bottles, but a few years ago the content of the bag was expanded to include all types of plastic packaging, including pots, bowls and plastic film.
In 2023, we collected more than 24 kilograms of PMD for every Belgian - that’s as much as 9 kilograms more than before. This expansion has also made the process easier for consumers because there is less uncertainty as to whether or not an item of packaging is allowed in the PMD bag. And they also notice the effect on their residual waste bag, which is visibly shrinking.
Meanwhile, the situation continues to evolve. As packaging evolves and technology creates more innovative options, we continue to expand the contents further so that we can recycle more and more. For example, since 1 January 2023, the increasingly popular capsules for coffee and other beverages are allowed in the PMD bag. This has proved to be a hit: in the first year, we succeeded in collecting approximately 4 out of 10 capsules sold.
Lessons from the blue bag for better out-of-home sorting
Sorting at home is a habit, that much is certain. However, due to changing socio-economic trends, we consume more and more outside the home, creating more waste outdoors that could also be sorted. Yet the infrastructure is often still considered inadequate. There are not enough rubbish bins available. Or if there are, there is no way to sort. In fact, the majority of citizens agree that keeping the environment clean, and therefore dealing with waste correctly, is a shared responsibility in which they also play a role.
So there is a will but not a sufficiently easy way, as yet. To encourage the right behaviour everywhere, sorting needs to be easy everywhere. Fost Plus wants to work with municipalities and other partners to consider ways to make this happen. This will help close the gap with our already well-ingrained sorting habits at home and reduce the proportion of material lost in residual waste or litter.