Politicians, stop Fost Plus's war on environmental policy

That is what the environmental organisations Recycling Network Benelux and Bond Beter Leefmilieu say in response to revelations about abuse of power and the war waged by supermarkets, food companies, and the plastic industry against legislation that effectively addresses the environmental damage caused by packaging. The journalists from EUObserver and Apache published their investigation today into Fost Plus and 8 other so-called ‘green dot’ organisations [...]

Rob Buurman

24 Feb 2021

This is what the environmental organisations Recycling Netwerk Benelux and Bond Beter Leefmilieu are saying in response to revelations about the abuse of power and the war waged by supermarkets, food companies, and the plastic industry against legislation that effectively addresses the environmental damage caused by packaging.

The journalists of EUObserver and Apache published their investigation today into Fost Plus and 9 other so-called 'green dot' organisations in Europe. There is intense conflict of interest, harsh lobbying against environmental policy, and a major lack of transparency. Fost Plus is funded by supermarkets, food manufacturers, and the plastic industry, among others. It controls all information on waste management. "It is therefore both judge and jury," say director Rob Buurman of Recycling Netwerk and Tycho Van Hauwaert, circular economy expert of Bond Beter Leefmilieu.

The institutionalised influence of Fost Plus on government policy has blocked sustainable waste policies for years. As a result, the mountain of waste in Belgium continues to grow. Many volunteers gather litter with great optimism and call themselves 'Mooimakers', but are thus being used to further Fost Plus's agenda. Littering is not decreasing either; on the contrary, it rose by more than 29 per cent in the 2013-2019 period. But due to Fost Plus's 'cooperation' with public services, an untransparent mixture of commercial interests and public policy has emerged. The partnerships "Mooimakers" (with the Flemish government) and "Be Wapp" (with the Walloon government) must therefore be stopped immediately.

The Flemish Parliament must take the initiative for an independent audit into conflict of interest and abuse of power by Fost Plus. The organisation was originally established to make packaging more sustainable through better collection and recycling. But nowadays Fost Plus primarily functions as a highly influential lobbying club on behalf of big business. Fost Plus's role must be restricted to the implementation of policy. Packaging policy itself must once again be determined by governments. The government must therefore also be able to delegate its own observers and independent observers to the Board of Directors of Fost Plus, so that the government and society can have a voice in waste policy again.

All information from Fost Plus must be made transparent and fully public immediately. “The control of packaging policy must no longer lie in the hands of the companies involved themselves. The government urgently needs to take back control,” concludes Recycling Netwerk Benelux.

Recycling Netwerk Benelux

Rob Buurman, director, rob@fairresourcefoundation.org

Press contact: Tom Zoete, communications admin@fairresourcefoundation.org +32 497 04 27 96

Bond Beter Leefmilieu

Tycho Van Hauwaert, circular economy expert, tycho.vanhauwaert@bblv.be, 0493 73 86 36