Fost Plus and Valipac will work closely with producer organisations in neighbouring countries France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in the coming years. The six organisations signed a letter of intent to this effect on 8 October. By sharing knowledge and aligning declaration systems, they aim to help companies meet their future legal obligations and make their packaging more sustainable.
Each of the six producer organisations is responsible in its country for the selective collection and recycling of packaging and ensures that producers comply with their producer responsibility (EPR) legal obligations. They are Fost Plus and Valipac in Belgium, Verpact in the Netherlands, Citeo and Citeo Pro in France and Valorlux in Luxembourg. The organisations are recognised by the government and funded by the companies marketing the packaging.
Our members face enormous challenges in the years ahead. The new European regulation sets ambitious targets for prevention, reuse and recycling and aims to achieve further harmonisation between member states. Reporting requirements are also getting tougher. By working with our colleagues in neighbouring countries, we can ease the administrative burden on our members and better support them in their efforts to introduce more sustainable packaging.
Better service and more sustainable packaging
By working more closely together, the six organisations aim to improve their services to member companies and prepare them for future legal obligations. Cooperation will initially focus on three key themes:
- Packaging data management. Companies have to report more and more data on the packaging they put on the market. The six organisations are working towards a common data set to manage and share that data, making it easier for companies to report their data across countries.
- Sharing knowledge on sustainable packaging systems. Over the years, the six organisations have developed considerable expertise in sustainable packaging management, including packaging reduction, reusable packaging systems, design for recycling, the use of recycled content and innovative recycling technologies. By pooling that knowledge, they can provide maximum support to companies and advise them on how to make their packaging more sustainable.
- Industrial packaging. Finally, the six organisations also want to cooperate more closely on the further development of producer responsibility for industrial packaging. This will include a focus on a standardised producer definition, the traceability of the recycling destination and guaranteeing achieved recycling rates. Again, data management, reporting tools and knowledge-sharing will play a major role.
Nobody can be in any doubt about the obligations to which everyone in the packaging chain is subject. Together with like-minded EPR packaging organisations, we are therefore working together in EXPRA to ensure that EU packaging policy is ambitious, but also fair, clear and enforceable. Precisely to increase the feasibility and raise our services to an even higher level, we are going to work together in a cluster of Dutch- and French-speaking EPR organisations. By aligning our services more closely, we want to ensure that our producers, many of whom also operate in Belgium, France and Luxembourg, can meet their obligations more easily.
Through international cooperation between the EPR organisations of these four countries we can address common challenges imposed by the new European legislations and exchange best practices. This will not only increase the efficiency of our EPR systems, but also have a positive impact on the circular economy of our packaging by promoting better and more cost-efficient collection and local recycling methods.
More information?
Contact Valerie Bruynincks via pr@fostplus.be or +32 2 774 48 32.