The Belgian packaging industry has already saved €465 million in litter tax on our bill

[PRESS RELEASE, 17/07/2025] The Belgian packaging industry is making a lot of fuss about the introduction of a new litter levy of €102 million. But in doing so, it forgets that its successful lobbying has already netted it no less than €465 million. Money that the sector saved at the expense of local authorities and society. Fair Resource Foundation takes stock. A fee to cover the costs of litter in Belgium The litter levy is not a tax on producers. It serves to help cover the social costs of litter from packaging, according to the 'polluter pays' principle. Producers take responsibility for the waste of the packaging they place on the market. This fee does not come out of thin air: it is laid down in European regulations. The Single-Use Plastic Directive (SUPD) makes the contribution mandatory for SUP products from January 2023, and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposes it as a solution for all types of packaging. In Belgium, this fee has been under discussion for a long time: the discussions on this interregional agreement on litter costs (also known as " IRA EPR / Litter ") have been ongoing between the three regions since 2022. As is so often the case, it was not easy to reach agreement within and between the Belgian regional governments. The Flemish government approved the text on Tuesday and the Walloon and Brussels governments will approve it today. The agreement is further complicated by the fact that the industry has stepped up its delaying tactics in recent years (in 2023, 2024 and this Tuesday). And this resistance has paid off: the industry has already saved more than €465 million. Let's break it down: The first proposal provided for a contribution of €189 million per year for packaging, from 2023. That was reduced to €112 million at the second reading, and now the amount is just €102 million. Annual savings for the sector from 2025: €87 million; The litter fee should have entered into force in 2023. Due to delays and adjustments, largely the result of industry lobbying and political disputes, this has now been postponed until 2025. And yet the sector still calls that 'unpredictable', while it has known for more than two years that this litter fee is coming... Savings for 2023 and 2024: €378 million (2 x €189 million); Total savings for the sector: €465 million. A highly profitable lobby. At the expense of local authorities and society. Industry wins, society loses It is not just about how much the industry wins. It is also about what local authorities lose: municipalities, intermunicipal utilities, provinces and Mooimakers. Due to the reduced financial contributions from the packaging industry, Flanders will still have to contribute around €91 million annually. That is 56.07% of the total litter costs. That means: fewer resources to clean our streets, parks, verges and waterways. Less budget to deploy staff, improve infrastructure, strengthen checks and enforcement, run campaigns, clean up illegal dumping. And as long as those costs end up with local authorities, they are often passed on to citizens through higher local taxes or reduced services, simply for lack of other funding. In short: what the industry wins, local authorities and ultimately the citizen lose. Financial contribution or structural solution? Ironically, the sector is not only against this financial contribution, but has also been against proven structural solutions for years, such as a ban on single-use packaging or a deposit return scheme on cans and bottles. Yet in 18 European countries, such systems have significantly reduced the share of beverage packaging in litter, including an 80% reduction in the Netherlands. As long as the Belgian packaging sector continues to block structural and effective solutions, it cannot reasonably complain about higher costs than in neighbouring countries. In Belgium, alternatives such as De Click, awareness-raising, fines and clean-up actions have so far had no structural effect. They are valuable in raising citizen awareness, but they cannot compete with effective measures such as deposit return schemes. If such a system is introduced and effectively reduces the amount of discarded packaging and the associated costs for local authorities, the fee can of course be reduced. This is provided for in the new interregional agreement introducing this fee. If the sector really wants this fee to go down, it knows what it has to do: invest in a real solution, not in distraction. [END OF PRESS RELEASE] Press contact: Chloé Schwizgebel, Packaging Project Coordinator Fair Resource Foundation

[PRESS RELEASE, 17/07/2025]

The Belgian packaging industry is making a lot of fuss about the introduction of a new litter levy of €102 million. But in doing so, it forgets that its successful lobbying has already netted it no less than €465 million. Money that the sector saved at the expense of local authorities and society. Fair Resource Foundation takes stock.

A fee to cover the costs of litter in Belgium

The litter levy is not a tax on producers. It serves to help cover the social costs of litter from packaging, according to the 'polluter pays' principle. Producers take responsibility for the waste of the packaging they place on the market. This fee does not come out of thin air: it is laid down in European regulations. The Single-Use Plastic Directive (SUPD) makes the contribution mandatory for SUP products from January 2023, and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) proposes it as a solution for all types of packaging.

In Belgium, this fee has been under discussion for a long time: the discussions on this interregional agreement on litter costs (also known as “IRA EPR / Litter“) have been ongoing between the three regions since 2022. As is so often the case, it was not easy to reach agreement within and between the Belgian regional governments. The Flemish government approved the text on Tuesday and the Walloon and Brussels governments will approve it today.

The agreement is further complicated by the fact that the industry has stepped up its delaying tactics in recent years (in 2023, 2024 and this Tuesday). And this resistance has paid off: the industry has already saved more than 465 million euros. Let's break it down:

The first proposal provided for a contribution of €189 million per year for packaging, from 2023.

That was reduced to €112 million at the second reading, and now the amount is just €102 million. Annual savings for the sector from 2025: €87 million;

The litter fee should have entered into force in 2023. Due to delays and adjustments, largely the result of industry lobbying and political disputes, this has now been postponed until 2025. And yet the sector still calls that ‘unpredictable’, while it has known for more than two years that this litter fee is coming… Savings for 2023 and 2024: €378 million (2 x €189 million);

Total savings for the sector: €465 million. A highly profitable lobby. At the expense of local authorities and society.

Industry wins, society loses

It is not just about how much the industry wins. It is also about what local authorities lose: municipalities, intermunicipal utilities, provinces and Mooimakers. Due to the reduced financial contributions from the packaging industry, Flanders will still have to contribute around €91 million annually. That is 56.07% of the total litter costs.

That means: fewer resources to clean our streets, parks, verges and waterways. Less budget to deploy staff, improve infrastructure, strengthen checks and enforcement, run campaigns, clean up illegal dumping.

And as long as those costs end up with local authorities, they are often passed on to citizens through higher local taxes or reduced services, simply for lack of other funding.

In short: what the industry wins, local authorities and ultimately the citizen lose.

Financial contribution or structural solution?

Ironically, the sector is not only against this financial contribution, but has also been against proven structural solutions for years, such as a ban on single-use packaging or a deposit return scheme on cans and bottles. Yet in 18 European countries, such systems have significantly reduced the share of beverage packaging in litter, including an 80% reduction in the Netherlands.

As long as the Belgian packaging sector continues to block structural and effective solutions, it cannot reasonably complain about higher costs than in neighbouring countries. In Belgium, alternatives such as De Click, awareness-raising, fines and clean-up actions have so far had no structural effect. They are valuable in raising citizen awareness, but they cannot compete with effective measures such as deposit return schemes.

If such a system is introduced and effectively reduces the amount of discarded packaging and the associated costs for local authorities, the fee can of course be reduced. This is provided for in the new interregional agreement introducing this fee.

If the sector really wants this fee to go down, it knows what it has to do: invest in a real solution, not in distraction.

[END OF PRESS RELEASE]

Press contact: Chloé Schwizgebel, Packaging Project Coordinator Fair Resource Foundation +31 6 43288231

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