Europe is one of the world’s largest consumers of plastic, generating around 26 million tonnes of plastic waste every year. Much of that waste is generated during the Christmas season, with tons of plastic ending up either recycled or landfilled.
But Belgium is bucking this trend, producing 80 percent of the country’s packaging waste. Effectively recycled. Landfill disposal of household waste has been banned in the northern region of Flanders, resulting in a significant reduction in incineration. Overall, the region is on track to meet its 2030 goal of producing just 100kg of residual waste per household per year.
Much of this achievement is due to a variety of policy initiatives. The new policy includes expanding plastic, metal and beverage (PMD) waste bags to include all plastic packaging waste, segregating vegetable, horticultural and fruit (VGF) waste, and This includes extending the pay-as-you-go principle to door-to-door canvassing. -Door collection and recycling park.
LIFE C-MARTLIFE project accelerates and strengthens Flanders’ Plastics Action Plan, developed by the Flemish government in 2020 to achieve the goals set by the European Strategy on Plastics in the Circular Economy. The project will reduce plastic use by promoting prevention and reuse, tackling plastic waste, creating a sustainable recycling market and encouraging the use of recycled plastics as raw materials.
The seven-year program will also aim to make coastal areas litter-free by 2027 and reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the ocean by three-quarters by 2025. Additionally, by 2025, all packaging will be reusable, recyclable, compostable or biodegradable and single-use event catering materials will be severely restricted.
Companies signing the Flemish Green Agreement on C-MARTIFE packaging It has already submitted a pilot project to prevent single-use packaging, and the construction and demolition industries aim to increase recycling rates by up to 70 percent.
Other sectors, such as airports, clinics, retail trade and industrial zones, were scheduled to reduce residual waste by 15% from 2013 to 2022, but have been slow to respond.A playful awareness campaign It was launched to promote waste separation and recycling in the workplace.
Research shows consumers tend to forget reusable bags when going Christmas shopping, so C-MARTLIFE backed an impressive campaign On a high street in Flanders, a mannequin appears holding a second-hand bag from a competing store. The clear message is that shopping with a bag from another store is much better than shopping without a bag.
C-MARTLIFE has ambitions beyond Flanders. It is being rolled out in Brussels and across Wallonia, with plans to expand to include the Netherlands by 2030 and then to a further 10 EU countries. Education and awareness are key, and groups of traveling ambassadors are important. They are trained to disseminate information and share successful solutions, ideas and practices.
LIFE C-MARTLIFE complies with a number of EU policies, including the Waste Framework Directive and the European Strategy for Plastics in the Circular Economy. Circular Economy Action Plan 2020; Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste. Landfill Directive, Waste Incineration Directive. and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act.