The civil society must not be ignored in the revision of the Belgian packaging agreement

[Press release] Belgian citizens help the industry to recycle more than 50kg of packaging per year. 17% of litter in Flanders is cleared by litter volunteers. Yet they have no say in how packaging management will take shape in the coming years. Civil society organisations call on Minister Brouns and the Interregional Packaging Commission not to ignore them in the revision of Belgian packaging legislation.

9 Apr 2025

[Press release] Belgian citizens help the industry to recycle more than 50kg of packaging per year. 17% of litter in Flanders is cleared up by litter volunteers. Yet they have no say in how packaging management will take shape in the coming years. Civil society organisations call on Minister Brouns and the Interregional Packaging Commission not to ignore them in the revision of Belgian packaging legislation. Belgians are champions at sorting. That is what the industry has been boasting about for years. Fost Plus, the producer organisation for packaging, reports that every Belgian recycled more than 50 kg of packaging in 2023: 15.5 kg of paper and cardboard, 28.5 kg of glass and 17.7 kg of PMD packaging. This fantastic effort by citizens shows that they play an important role in the sustainable management of packaging. However, despite this role, civil society, consisting of consumer associations, environmental and social organisations, is wrongly kept out of packaging management policy. Belgium must make major changes to comply with the new European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). There will be targets for prevention and reuse, deposit systems will be introduced, and more. The involvement of the citizen, who plays a crucial role in the whole process, is a prerequisite for the success of this operation. And the clock is ticking. The new European rules come into force in August 2026. Revision of the packaging agreement must involve civil society Since 1994, packaging management has been coordinated by an “Interregional Cooperation Agreement” (ICA). The environment ministries of the three regions and the administrations involved must agree to revise this agreement so that packaging regulations are implemented uniformly throughout Belgium. To date, civil society has not been involved in the revision of this agreement. It is neither informed nor consulted. Therefore, a coalition of organisations including Testaankoop, Bond Beter Leefmilieu, the Statiegeldalliantie and Herwin sent a letter to the Walloon and Flemish environment ministers and to the Interregional Packaging Commission (IVC), which is responsible for revising the agreement. In this letter, the signatories ask for their voices to be counted, just like those of the industry. They ask that their expertise be heard in the same way as that of the industry and the public authorities, who are themselves involved. Chloé Schwizgebel, packaging project coordinator at Fair Resource Foundation: “This interregional agreement cannot be revised without consulting civil society. Just like industrial players, we have a lot of knowledge about the subject and we defend important interests. Without transparency and a balanced decision-making process, there is a real risk that the revision of the packaging agreement will be shaped to the industry's liking. Keeping us out of the negotiations is simply unfair.”. [End of press release] Signatories: Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Canopea, City to Ocean, ConsomAction, Gents MilieuFront, Grootouders voor het Klimaat, Fair Resource Foundation, Herwin, Natuurpunt, Statiegeldalliantie, Testaankoop Press contact: Chloé Schwizgebel, Packaging Project Coordinator chloe@fairresourcefoundation.org +31 643288231 Related tags More on this topic

[Press release]

Belgian citizens help the industry to recycle more than 50kg of packaging per year. 17% of litter in Flanders is cleared up by litter volunteers. Yet they have no say in how packaging management will take shape in the coming years. Civil society organisations call on Minister Brouns and the Interregional Packaging Commission not to ignore them in the revision of Belgian packaging legislation.

Belgians are champions at sorting. That is what the industry has been boasting about for years. Fost Plus, the producer organisation for packaging, reports that every Belgian recycled more than 50 kg of packaging in 2023: 15.5 kg of paper and cardboard, 28.5 kg of glass and 17.7 kg of PMD packaging. This fantastic effort by citizens shows that they play an important role in the sustainable management of packaging. However, despite this role, civil society, consisting of consumer associations, environmental and social organisations, is wrongly kept out of packaging management policy.

Revision of the packaging agreement must involve civil society

Since 1994, packaging management has been coordinated by an “Interregional Cooperation Agreement” (ICA). The environment ministries of the three regions and the administrations involved must agree to revise this agreement so that packaging regulations are implemented uniformly throughout Belgium.

To date, civil society has not been involved in the revision of this agreement. It is neither informed nor consulted. Therefore, a coalition of organisations including Testaankoop, Bond Beter Leefmilieu, the Statiegeldalliantie and Herwin sent a letter to the Walloon and Flemish environment ministers and to the Interregional Packaging Commission (IVC), which is responsible for revising the agreement. In this letter, the signatories ask for their voices to be counted, just like those of the industry. They ask that their expertise be heard in the same way as that of the industry and the public authorities, who are themselves involved.

Chloé Schwizgebel, packaging project coordinator at Fair Resource Foundation: “This interregional agreement cannot be revised without consulting civil society. Just like industrial players, we have a lot of knowledge about the subject and we defend important interests. Without transparency and a balanced decision-making process, there is a real risk that the revision of the packaging agreement will be shaped to the industry's liking. Keeping us out of the negotiations is simply unfair.“.

[End of press release]

Signatories:

Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Canopea, City to Ocean, ConsomAction, Gents MilieuFront, Grootouders voor het Klimaat, Fair Resource Foundation, Herwin, Natuurpunt, Statiegeldalliantie, Testaankoop

Press contact: Chloé Schwizgebel, Packaging Project Coordinator chloe@fairresourcefoundation.org +31 643288231