Belgian parliament must tackle the fight against plastic pollution

On Wednesday, Recycling Netwerk Benelux proposed a series of fiscal and legislative instruments at the parliamentary hearing to tackle disposable waste at a federal level and to achieve the European targets.

The European Directive (EU) 2019 /904 is best known for its ban on a range of plastic products, but contains a series of other requirements and instruments with even greater potential to combat plastic litter pollution.

The federal level can and must play a pioneering role in implementing it. The Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Environment and Climate is considering the bill 55K0160001 put forward by PS MPs. That bill already transposes the bans on plastic cutlery, straws and other disposable plastic products into national law.

“This way, parliament can ensure that Belgium meets the European deadline of 3 July 2021 for the transposition of those bans, regardless of whether a government with full powers is established quickly or not,” says environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk.

Plastic bags

The bill also introduces a federal ban on plastic bags, building on the 2015 Plastic Bags Directive. “Plastic bags are very polluting, so a federal ban on them is a good thing for the environment. However, we do recommend defining precisely what thickness of bags is concerned. This makes it objectively measurable and closes loopholes,” says environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk. “In addition, we recommend an excise duty on disposable bags made of other materials. This way, the government prevents a shift from disposable plastic bags to disposable bags made of paper, for example. “

Directive a great opportunity for federal level

The House of Representatives also has a great opportunity to work on the other provisions of the European Directive 2019/904. The directive contains a whole range of matters that must be implemented federally: the consumption of some single-use packaging must be reduced, caps must be attached to plastic bottles, PET bottles must contain minimum values of recycled content and there are provisions on labelling and awareness-raising. The European directive also states that Member States must take “all necessary measures” to implement the provisions.

Less consumption of single-use items

In order to work on reducing the consumption of single-use plastic cups and food containers (Article 4 of the Directive), we advise, in addition to monitoring and targets, to introduce a federal tax on disposable plastic: a higher tax on single-use cups and single-use food packaging made of plastic and other materials, combined with a reduced tax on reusable cups and food packaging.

Collection of PET bottles

Article 9 of the Directive requires 90% separate collection of PET bottles by 2029. To achieve that goal, we look to the Norwegian model. In the 1990s, the Norwegian government introduced an environmental levy on all producers of plastic bottles. The more they collect and recycle, the lower the levy. This environmental levy has driven industry in Norway to set up a highly successful collection and recycling system. The companies involved, including Coca-Cola, then organised themselves in 1999 into a deposit system via Norsk Resirk, since 2014 Infinitum. Since 2011, Norway has achieved collection rates above 95%.

In Belgium, the Brussels and Walloon governments have already taken the first step towards achieving the 90% collection target by including deposit systems in their coalition agreements. It is very good for the environment that regions are moving forward with this. If Flanders lags behind, it will cause differences within Belgium. Since Belgium as a Member State must meet the target, the federal level must also get to work with this article. Therefore, the environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk advises that the federal Parliament and government introduce a tax on single-use plastic bottles and beverage packaging in Belgium based on the Norwegian model. Together with deposit schemes in the regions, this will enable Belgium to meet the European targets.

Broad support

An impressive majority of 94% of Belgians say in the Eurobarometer that “industry and retail must make an effort to reduce plastic packaging”. 72 percent of Belgians find a “surcharge on single-use products” an important instrument to reduce plastic waste and plastic pollution.

“A tax on disposable plastic packaging is therefore one of the few taxes that a majority of Belgians find important. A tax on disposable plastic is also interesting in the current situation where the next Belgian government needs new sources of revenue to resolve the budget deficit,” concludes environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk Benelux.

Video: the hearing in the House of Representatives, Wednesday 4 Dec

On Wednesday, Recycling Netwerk Benelux proposed a series of fiscal and legislative instruments at the parliamentary hearing to tackle disposable waste at a federal level and to achieve the European targets.

The European Directive (EU) 2019 /904 is best known for its ban on a range of plastic products, but contains a series of other requirements and instruments with even greater potential to combat plastic litter pollution.

The federal level can and must play a pioneering role in implementing it. The Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Environment and Climate is considering the bill 55K0160001 put forward by PS MPs. That bill already transposes the bans on plastic cutlery, straws and other disposable plastic products into national law.

“This way, parliament can ensure that Belgium meets the European deadline of 3 July 2021 for the transposition of those bans, regardless of whether a government with full powers is established quickly or not,” says environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk.

Plastic bags

The bill also introduces a federal ban on plastic bags, building on the 2015 Plastic Bags Directive. “Plastic bags are very polluting, so a federal ban on them is a good thing for the environment. However, we do recommend defining precisely what thickness of bags is concerned. This makes it objectively measurable and closes loopholes,” says environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk. “In addition, we recommend an excise duty on disposable bags made of other materials. This way, the government prevents a shift from disposable plastic bags to disposable bags made of paper, for example. “

Directive a great opportunity for federal level

The House of Representatives also has a great opportunity to work on the other provisions of the European Directive 2019/904. The directive contains a whole range of matters that must be implemented federally: the consumption of some single-use packaging must be reduced, caps must be attached to plastic bottles, PET bottles must contain minimum values of recycled content and there are provisions on labelling and awareness-raising. The European directive also states that Member States must take “all necessary measures” to implement the provisions.

Less consumption of single-use items

In order to work on reducing the consumption of single-use plastic cups and food containers (Article 4 of the Directive), we advise, in addition to monitoring and targets, to introduce a federal tax on disposable plastic: a higher tax on single-use cups and single-use food packaging made of plastic and other materials, combined with a reduced tax on reusable cups and food packaging.

Collection of PET bottles

Article 9 of the Directive requires 90% separate collection of PET bottles by 2029. To achieve that goal, we look to the Norwegian model. In the 1990s, the Norwegian government introduced an environmental levy on all producers of plastic bottles. The more they collect and recycle, the lower the levy. This environmental levy has driven industry in Norway to set up a highly successful collection and recycling system. The companies involved, including Coca-Cola, then organised themselves in 1999 into a deposit system via Norsk Resirk, since 2014 Infinitum. Since 2011, Norway has achieved collection rates above 95%.

In Belgium, the Brussels and Walloon governments have already taken the first step towards achieving the 90% collection target by including deposit systems in their coalition agreements. It is very good for the environment that regions are moving forward with this. If Flanders lags behind, it will cause differences within Belgium. Since Belgium as a Member State must meet the target, the federal level must also get to work with this article. Therefore, the environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk advises that the federal Parliament and government introduce a tax on single-use plastic bottles and beverage packaging based on the Norwegian model in Belgium. Together with deposit schemes in the regions, this will enable Belgium to meet the European targets.

Broad support

An impressive majority of 94% of Belgians say in the Eurobarometer that “industry and retail must make an effort to reduce plastic packaging”. 72 percent of Belgians find a “surcharge on single-use products” an important instrument to reduce plastic waste and plastic pollution.

“A tax on disposable plastic packaging is therefore one of the few taxes that a majority of Belgians find important. A tax on disposable plastic is also interesting in the current situation where the next Belgian government needs new sources of revenue to resolve the budget deficit,” concludes environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk Benelux.

Video: the hearing in the House of Representatives, Wednesday 4 December 2019 Eurobarometer, Attitude of European Citizens towards the Environment, November 2017, p. 83