Sorting at home

Sorting more and better together

By sorting at home, you are helping to create a better living environment and a cleaner planet. Because thanks to your efforts, we can give packaging a new life. That means we need fewer raw materials, we save energy and we emit less CO2.

This page tells you how to sort correctly PMD, Paper-Cardboard and Glass at home and what you can do to make recycling easier.

pmd sorteren

Now easier than ever!

Thanks to the New Blue Bag, sorting has become even easier. Because lots more can go in your PMD bag than before. As well as plastic bottles and containers, you can now put almost all plastic packaging in the PMD. So yes, your yoghurt pots, butter tubs, plastic packaging around meat, fish and vegetables and all plastic films and bags, too. And that is a good thing: your residual waste bag gets a lot lighter and we can recycle even more.

This is how you sort correctly PMD

What's allowed with PMD?

Plastic packaging

wat wel
  • Bottles and containers
  • Dishes, tubs and trays
  • Pots and tubes
  • Films and bags
  • Beverage capsules

Metal packaging

wat wel
  • Drinks and food cans
  • Aerosols spray cans
  • Aluminium trays and dishes
  • Lids, tops and crown caps
  • Beverage capsules

Drinks cartons

wat wel
  • For milk and fruit juice, but soup or cream, too.

Tips for better recycling

  • Empty bottles or other packaging completely.
  • Squash plastic bottles flat lengthways, put the lid on and save space in the bag.
  • Remove the plastic film from dishes and throw it into the bag separately.
  • Remove full body sleeves from teh bottle and throw them separately into the blue bag.

What's not allowed with PMD?

wat niet
Packaging consisting of a mixture of materials which cannot be separated
Emballages avec un pictogramme "danger pour la santé" et "toxique", les emballages avec une bouchon de sécurité enfants
Packaging with at least one of these pictograms or a childproof closure
Emballages d'huile de moteur, des lubrifiants, des pesticides, des carburants, des peintures et vernis, tubes de silicone
Motor oil, lubricants, pesticides, fuels, adhesives, paints and varnishes, silicone sealants packaging
wat niet
Packaging of more than 8 litres
wat niet
Polystyrene
wat niet
Other items

Avoid these mistakes

  • Do not stack anything.
  • Do not put filled bags in the PMD bag.
  • Do not attach anything to the outside of the PMD bag.
Filled bags in the PMD bag will not be recognised on the sorting belt and the contents cannot be processed for recycling.
pmd verpakkingen

PMD sorting guide

Download this handy guide
Play video
How does a bottle become a bottle again?
Play video
What happens with your PMD in the sorting centre?
Play video
How does your PMD get recycled?

This is how you sort correctly Paper-Cardboard

What's allowed with Paper-Cardboard

wat wel
  • Newspapers and magazines
  • Folders without the plastic packaging
  • Printing paper 
  • All paper and cardboard packaging: boxes, bags and rolls

What's not allowed with Paper-Cardboard

wat niet
  • Dirty, greasy paper and cardboard
  • Wallpaper
  • Cellophane paper and aluminium foil and bags
Offer your Paper-Cardboard in a properly closed cardboard box. In this way, you avoid litter caused by paper blowing away.

Tips for better recycling

  • Take newspapers, magazines and folders out of the plastic packaging.
  • Stuff paper and cardboard in a cardboard box.
  • Don’t use sticky tape to seal the cardboard boxes.
  • Avoid overly heavy cardboard boxes. 
Papier karton

Sorting guide Paper-Cardboard

Download this handy guide

This is how you sort correctly glass

What's allowed with glass

wat wel
  • White glass bottles, jars and containers
  • Coloured glass bottles, jars and containers

What's not allowed with glass

wat niet
  • Opal glass and crystal
  • Porcelain, ceramics and terracotta
  • Heat-resistant glass 
  • Sheet glass such as windows and mirrors
  • Bulbs
  • Lids and tops

Tips for better recycling

  • Empty your bottles and jars. There is no need to rinse or wash them.
  • Throw clear glass and coloured glass in the right bottle bank.
  • Metal or plastic caps and lids belong in the PMD bag.
  • Respect the peace and quiet of local residents and only use the bottle bank during the hours stated.
  • Don’t leave rubbish around the bottle bank. Fly-tipping is a criminal offence!
Glas sorteergids

Glass sorting guide

Download this handy guide
  • Spotted superfluous packaging? Say so!
    Have you seen packaging that you don’t think is necessary? Too big for the product? Too much material? Let us know using our reporting form! Describe the packaging, tell us where you saw it and explain why you think it is superfluous. The producer will answer your question as soon as possible.
sorteertwijfels

Sorting doubts?

Still not always sure where or how you should sort your packaging? You will find more tips for better sorting on www.bettersorting.be. It also has our packaging locator that tells you straight away where to put your packaging.

Go to the website
Recycle! app

Free Recycle! app

Thé app to sort and recycle in Belgium. Find sorting information, waste collection timings, and collection points on your smartphone. Thanks to the useful notifications and news updates, you'll always know what's going on.

Download the Recycle!-app

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