2020/0649/B
EC/EFTA
BE Belgium
  • B30 - Environment
2021-01-15
2020-10-21

Sustainable management of material cycles and waste.

PRELIMINARY DRAFT DECREE AMENDING THE DECREE OF 5 APRIL 1995 ON GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND THE DECREE OF 23 DECEMBER 2011 ON SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF MATERIAL CYCLES AND WASTE

This preliminary draft Decree proposes amendments to the Materials Decree and the Decree on general provisions regarding environmental policy that are necessary for proper transposition of the amended European Waste Framework Directive, the amended Directive on port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships and the Directive on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment.

Most provisions are technical adjustments with little to no impact on policy, such as adjustments to definitions.

The provisions that do in fact impact policy involve:
- a legal basis for passing the costs of litter on to producers;
- introduction of minimum criteria, with which an extended producer responsibility scheme must comply;
- generalisation of the principle that waste collectors must organise their collection formulas to incentivise their customers to separate waste.

The first two points amount to producers taking on more financial responsibility for the management costs associated with waste originating from the products they place on the market, in accordance with the principle of extended producer responsibility. The third point offers additional options to use the Flemish regulation on sustainable management of material cycles and waste [Vlarema] to provide financial incentives to separate recyclable waste, for both households and businesses.