Will Flanders finally take decisive action against litter?

Knack published this opinion piece on 19 November 2022. The City of Antwerp announced this week that it is no longer participating in Fost Plus's 'De Click' project. Under this project, people had to scan packaging along with a QR code on a rubbish bin in order to receive a discount on purchases at a range of businesses. The evaluation made by the City of Antwerp was negative. The cost was at the city's expense. On average, there was only one click every two days per rubbish bin. The amount of litter on the streets remained just as high. Antwerp is rightly pulling the plug. There is no point in putting time and energy into litter policies that do not yield results. The fate of De Click is symptomatic of the policies of recent years. Fost Plus did some experiments and 'fun ideas' with Click bins, sent Mooimakers onto the streets, and hung up posters. But the target of 20 per cent less litter by 2022 was nowhere near achieved. In its Litter and Fly-tipping 2021 report, Ovam still counted 18 million kilograms of litter annually in Flanders. After six years, the industry with Fost Plus has therefore failed to achieve the structural reduction laid down in the Waste Implementation Plan 2016-2022, the Packaging Agreement of 2018, and the Coalition Agreement of the Flemish Government 2019-2024. Flemish Minister for Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA) logically concludes that a deposit return scheme is inevitable. She is working on a decision by the Flemish Government before the end of the year, so that the deposit scheme can be up and running by 2025. Coalition partner CD&V and also the opposition parties Vooruit and Groen have long been supporters. There is also consensus in the Walloon parliament. Even federal Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) expressed support for a deposit scheme on the RTBF this week. The fight against litter indeed needs a more fact-based approach. What doesn't work, we abolish. What works well, we implement. It is therefore good that the City of Antwerp is stopping with De Click. And that the Flemish, Brussels, and Walloon governments are taking steps towards a deposit scheme. Scanning at home It was therefore remarkable that Fost Plus came up with a similar little idea of scanning with smartphones when Minister Demir announced that she was introducing a deposit scheme. Now Fost Plus wants people to scan cans and bottles not only on the street, but also at home before throwing them into the blue bag. But here again, the system is not yet fully developed. The technology to print individual QR codes on cans at high speed is not yet available. Fost Plus itself will only be able to say in a few years' time at the earliest whether their system can work at all. Such a scanning system does not exist anywhere else in the world. In this way, the 2025 deadline will never be met. Outside of Fost Plus itself, there is little enthusiasm for their idea. During the hearings in the Flemish Parliament, MPs and stakeholders raised many questions about potential fraud and privacy violations with such a scanning system. What about someone who scans a QR code in their car that they once took from a blue bag, and then still chucks the can out of the side window? What private data is needed to make the transaction possible? And what about people who find it difficult to scan QR codes on cans in the blue bag with a smartphone? Only 54% of the inhabitants of the Flemish Region have basic digital skills. Is Fost Plus really serious about this scanning system? Or is it a cynical delay tactic? What is certain in any case, is that a normal deposit scheme with return at supermarkets can be up and running by 2025. In contrast, no one knows whether the Fost Plus scanning system is effective, accessible, and whether it is even technologically feasible. Are we going to fight litter with an instrument, deposit return, that daily shows that it works in more than 40 states? Or will Flanders opt for a theoretical concept that does not yet exist? Deposit return like in the North of Europe In the hearings in the Flemish Parliament, there was a lot of support for the introduction of a deposit scheme where people get their deposit back at the supermarket, as already exists for beer bottles, for example. The experts from Ovam emphasised that the deposit scheme must be simple, easy, customer-friendly, and accessible. The Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities explained that it is the role of the distribution sector to set up collection in supermarkets and points of sale. It cannot be the intention to use public space for this. Ovam proposes a minimum framework with the obligation that medium and large points of sale for drinks above 400 m2 net retail area act as a collection channel. The more than 200 Flemish and more than 100 Walloon municipalities that united in the Deposit Alliance expect a deposit scheme that, with collection through supermarkets, truly keeps cans and bottles out of the

Knack published this opinion piece o

The City of Antwerp announced this week that it is no longer participating in Fost Plus's 'De Click' project. Under this project, people had to scan packaging along with a QR code on a rubbish bin in order to receive a discount on purchases at a range of businesses. The evaluation made by the City of Antwerp was negative. The cost was at the city's expense. On average, there was only one click every two days per rubbish bin. The amount of litter on the streets remained just as high.

Antwerp is rightly pulling the plug. There is no point in putting time and energy into litter policies that do not yield results. The fate of De Click is symptomatic of the policies of recent years. Fost Plus did some experiments and 'fun ideas' with Click bins, sent Mooimakers onto the streets, and hung up posters. But the target of 20 per cent less litter by 2022 was nowhere near achieved. In its report Litter and Fly-tipping 2021, Ovam still counted 18 million kilograms of litter annually in Flanders. After six years, the industry with Fost Plus has therefore failed to achieve the structural reduction laid down in the Waste Implementation Plan 2016-2022, the Packaging Agreement of 2018, and the Coalition Agreement of the Flemish Government 2019-2024.

Flemish Minister for Environment Zuhal Demir (N-VA) logically concludes that a deposit return scheme is inevitable. She is working on a decision by the Flemish Government before the end of the year, so that the deposit scheme can be up and running by 2025. Coalition partner CD&V and also the opposition parties Vooruit and Groen have long been supporters. There is also consensus in the Walloon parliament. Even federal Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) expressed support for a deposit scheme on the RTBF this week. The fight against litter indeed needs a more fact-based approach. What doesn't work, we abolish. What works well, we implement. It is therefore good that the City of Antwerp is stopping with De Click. And that the Flemish, Brussels, and Walloon governments are taking steps towards a deposit scheme.

Scanning at home

It was therefore remarkable that Fost Plus came up with a similar little idea of scanning with smartphones when Minister Demir announced that she was introducing a deposit scheme. Now Fost Plus wants people to scan cans and bottles not only on the street, but also at home before throwing them into the blue bag. But here again, the system is not yet fully developed. The technology to print individual QR codes on cans at high speed is not yet available. Fost Plus itself will only be able to say in a few years' time at the earliest whether their system can work at all. Such a scanning system does not exist anywhere else in the world. In this way, the 2025 deadline will never be met.

Outside of Fost Plus itself, there is little enthusiasm for their idea. During the hearings in the Flemish Parliament, MPs and stakeholders raised many questions about potential fraud and privacy violations with such a scanning system. What about someone who scans a QR code in their car that they once took from a blue bag, and then still chucks the can out of the side window? What private data is needed to make the transaction possible? And what about people who find it difficult to scan QR codes on cans in the blue bag with a smartphone? Only 54% of the inhabitants of the Flemish Region have basic digital skills.

Is Fost Plus really serious about this scanning system? Or is it a cynical delay tactic? What is certain in any case, is that a normal deposit scheme with return at supermarkets can be up and running by 2025. In contrast, no one knows whether the Fost Plus scanning system is effective, accessible, and whether it is even technologically feasible. Are we going to fight litter with an instrument, deposit return, that daily shows that it works in more than 40 states? Or will Flanders opt for a theoretical concept that does not yet exist?

Deposit return like in the North of Europe

The more than 200 Flemish and more than 100 Walloon municipalities that united in the Deposit Alliance expect a deposit scheme that, with collection through supermarkets, truly keeps cans and bottles out of the litter. This is also the wish of the 80 per cent of Belgians who want a deposit scheme. We can therefore hope that ministers Demir, Maron, and Tellier, with the support of their parliaments, will set up a robust and effective deposit system.

Belgium is late in introducing a deposit return scheme for cans and plastic bottles. Fourteen European countries have gone before us. Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, and Turkey are rolling out deposit schemes by 2025. But we can also turn our lagging behind to our advantage. By drawing lessons from experiences abroad, we can create the best deposit scheme in Europe. A beautiful and clean Flanders is within reach.