Waste plan no solution for litter, society continues to demand deposits

Even a target for reducing litter is missing from the Waste Plan, analyses environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk on Saturday.

The Waste Plan contains targets for recycling. But targets for litter reduction are completely missing. It only indicates that a new baseline measurement will determine exactly which types of waste are in the litter.

The Bourgeois government has set a target of collecting and recycling 90% of beverage packaging by 2022. But if you believe the current figures of Fost Plus, that target is already being "achieved" today. (Fost Plus claims that 91% of beverage cartons, 87.7% of PET bottles, and 102% of metal packaging, including cans, are already being recycled. Together that is easily 90% because the figures are incorrect). As long as the government relies on figures from the industry, the target will not lead to new policy.

It will not be evaluated until the end of 2023 whether a deposit system will be introduced. That is unnecessarily late. Moreover, the question is what exactly the government wants to evaluate at the end of 2023, because there is no new target, neither for reducing litter nor for improved recycling.

The measure for plastic bags goes no further than the minimum requirement of the European Commission to charge for them. Brussels and Wallonia are already further ahead because those regions have not made the bags chargeable, but have categorically banned them.

The target of 50% recycled content in PET packaging by 2025 is a good thing, because this boosts the market for recycled PET, which is necessary for a circular economy.

Demand from society for a deposit system remains

Deposit systems reduce the volume of cans and bottles in litter by 70 to 90 per cent. Alternatives that are equally effective are not available. Opponents of a deposit system know that too. Otherwise, the government and parliament would have heard of the alternative from the companies involved months ago.

Thinking that beverage producers and supermarkets will reduce litter just as effectively without a deposit system is naive. They hope to eventually achieve cancellation through postponement.

As long as litter disfigures streets, fields and beaches, Flemings will continue to ask for effective solutions such as a deposit system. As long as pieces of can make cows sick, cattle farmers will take action. As long as plastic ends up in the sea, consumers will make themselves heard. As long as the clean-up bill rises, Flemish municipalities will continue to advocate for a deposit system.

“We note that the demand for a faster introduction already enjoys the broad support of 82 per cent of citizens, 168 Flemish municipalities and one hundred Flemish organisations. Apart from the companies involved, no one in society asked to wait until 2023. It will therefore be interesting to look out for initiatives that accelerate the decision-making process. It will be fascinating to see how this theme will evolve in the campaigns for the municipal and Flemish elections”, concludes Recycling Netwerk.

Rob Buurman, director FRF info@fairresourcefoundation.org