Sorting waste in your company
Did you know that the residual waste generated by companies still contains on average 50% of materials that could have been recovered if they had been sorted at source?²
By sorting wood, plastic, paper and cardboard and organic waste, you could free up just under half the volume of your residual waste container. After all, these materials can easily be valorized. Moreover, most of these materials are subject to a sorting obligation! So it’s certainly worth taking a closer look at your waste.
¹ « Sorteeranalyse van bedrijfsrestafval ingezameld door private inzamelaars », analysis of the composition of residual waste from companies – study conducted by OWS in 2022 on behalf of OVAM.
How much waste do Belgian companies produce? What do the different waste streams represent in terms of tonnage and collection points?
Valipac uses the data supplied by its affiliated waste management companies to identify the waste produced by Belgian companies.
The tables and graphs below provide the following information:
- Total tonnage and number of collection points per province, with trends
- Tonnage and number of collection points by material, with trends
- Tonnage and number of collection points by sector, with trends
Sorting waste is easier than you think
Do you have questions about sorting your waste in your company?
You can find all the useful information on the new Valipac platform (only FR and DU)
Follow our advice on our specific platform dedicated to sorting in companies.
You will find useful information on, among other things, the following topics:
- What are your sorting obligations?
- How to optimize your waste management?
- Which communication material to use?
- Where to find a waste collection service?
Incentives for your business?
It is a legal obligation for all businesses to sort their packaging waste. To reward these efforts, your business may be entitled to a number of incentives linked to the sorting of your industrial packaging.
Why do we offer incentives?
Valipac’s mission is to provide evidence to government authorities of the recycling of any industrial packaging placed on the market by its members at the moment it enters the waste stream.
Recycling is much easier when waste is efficiently sorted at source, so everybody benefits. That is why we want to provide financial incentives to businesses that sort their own industrial packaging waste.
These incentives are not government subsidies but are funded by contribution fees from Valipac clients.
The incentives on offer
Working with a waste management company affiliated with Valipac allows you to obtain up to five incentives:
- starter incentive for selective containers
- starter incentive for collection bags
- container incentive for small wheelie bins
- recycling incentive
- collaction bag incentive
This incentive rewards businesses that use a a wheelie bin or a dumpster for the first time for sorting their packaging waste and who have never before received an incentive from Valipac.
Why?
This incentive gives a “kick-start” to encourage businesses to start sorting their waste.
How much?
A one-time incentive of € 450.
How is it paid?
This incentive is granted only once per company number.
The incentive is paid over 3 years: €200 in the first year, €150 in the second and €100 in the third.
This incentive rewards businesses that buy collection bags for the first time for sorting their plastic packaging waste and who have never before received an incentive for collection bags from Valipac.
How much?
A one-time incentive of € 50 per type of plastic collected (film, expanded polystyrene, strapping).
How is it paid?
This incentive is granted only once per company number and per type of plastic.
Who gets it ?
This incentive is for businesses that use small wheelie bins for the sorting and collection of their C&I packaging waste.
Why?
The incentive is granted to encourage companies to continue sorting.
How much?
An annual contribution of €50 towards the rental cost of hiring containers with a volume of between 660 and 999 litres.
How is it paid?
The container incentive comes into play for all categories of C&I packaging waste.
Recycling incentive
Who gets it?
This incentive is assigned to businesses that sort the following:
- C&I wooden packaging waste ;
- C&I plastic packaging waste ;
- C&I commercial metal packaging waste
Why?
This incentive encourages waste sorting inside businesses in order to make the recycling of specific waste streams more efficient.
How much?
The recycling incentive is calculated per ton and can be added to the container bonus.
- Waste from wood packaging: €10/ton
- Waste from plastic packaging: €30/ton
- Waste from metal packaging: €10/ton
The recycling incentive does not apply to pallet repairs.
How is it paid?
The incentive is a lump sum payment per ton of waste sent to recycling.
Bin bag incentive for small quantities
To encourage the selective collection of plastics in small quantities (film, EPS, strapping etc), Valipac has introduced a “bin bag incentive”.
The amount of this incentive is €0.50 per bag purchased.
This incentive can be added to the recycling incentive.
For each purchased bag, you will receive:
- one incentive (for plastic film this incentive is capped at a maximum number of 500 bags per company per year);
- a recycling incentive for the materials in the bag. This incentive is calculated on the basis of an average theoretical weight per 100 litres of waste: 2.25 kg/100 litres for plastic film, 0.75 kg/100 litres for EPS and 2.25/100 litres for plastic strapping.
Suppose you buy 1,000 bags each of 400 litre capacity, which you fill with plastic film. Your incentive will be calculated as follows:
- Bin bag incentive : 1,000 bags x €0.5/bag = €500; limited to 500 bags → €250
- Quantity of plastic film in each bag : 4 x 2.25 kg = 9 kg
- Total quantity of plastic film: 9 kg/bag x 1,000 bags = 9 tonnes
- Recycling incentive : €30/tonne x 9 tonnes = €270
- Total incentive : €250 + €270 = €520
How to obtain your incentive?
It’s easy to get your incentive.
01
Work with one of Valipac’s affiliated waste management companies
The waste management companies affiliated with Valipac know everything about the system and will give you valuable advice on the best way to sort your waste.
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02
Sort your industrial packaging waste correctly
Make sure you follow all the guidelines provided by your collection service. If not done correctly, your waste will probably fail the standards for recycling and you will not be eligible for the incentive.
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04
Log on to myCertificate
Thanks to myCertificate, administrative formalities are kept to a strict minimum.
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03
Wait for your PIN code
During the year you will receive an email confirming your PIN code for access to myCertificate, the app which manages the payment of incentives. The incentive allways relates to the previous year.
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05
Valipac pays your incentive
The amount of the incentive is paid by bank transfer to the account number mentioned in your account page.
Conditions for eligibility
Valipac’s incentives are paid out only for industrial packaging waste that has been:
- generated on Belgian soil,
- correctly sorted,
- collected by a waste management company affiliated to Valipac, and
- actually recycled.
Unless your waste collection service is able to provide proof that the complete amount of waste collected from you has been recycled, Valipac will not be in a position to pay out the whole amount of the incentive. In such a case we will make our calculation on the basis of a recycling coefficient based on the recycling figures that we obtain from your collection service.
If your company is registered with the Extended Producer Responsibility but does not comply with the packaging legislation, Valipac will be obliged to suspend payment of the incentive until you can provide proof that your company is fully compliant.
Are you compliant with the Extended Producer Responsibility?
Practical information about the incentives
Incentives are exempt from VAT and do not have to be invoiced:
- if you are able to allocate them to the cost code 74 (other operating income);
- if the documentary proof needed for your accounts can be taken from your account page;
- if Valipac prepares a tax certificate for amounts higher than €250 at the end of each year and transmits this information to the Finance Ministry;
- if your business operates from several sites under the same company number, meaning that you will receive one document listing up all the operator bonuses.
myCertificate
- Use your PIN number(s) that you have received to log on to your personal account page. If you work with several waste collection services, it’s possible that you will have several PINs.
- On your account page, you can fill in or confirm the information that concerns you and, as the case may be, see the amount of the incentive for which you are eligible.
- If your business complies with the legislation implementing Extended Producer Responsibility, or if it is not affected by this legislation, you will immediately see confirmation of the amount of your incentive.
- If your business is not compliant with the legislation implementing Extended Producer Responsibility, you will see the reason for payment of the incentive being withheld.