Over the coming years, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation will without doubt be one of the biggest issues for members of Fost Plus, and by extension Valipac. It is a package of legislation and regulations that are part of the European Green Deal for a carbon-neutral Europe by 2050.

The aim is to reduce the environmental impact of packaging by making it more recyclable, increasing the use of recycled material and reducing the amount of single-use packaging. This is being achieved by rules prohibiting certain types of packaging and the introduction of mandatory reusability and harmonised labelling within the EU, among other measures. It goes without saying that the PPWR will have a major impact on both what consumers will find in shops and the way businesses will deliver their products to their customers.

The regulation enters into force on 12 August, but the difficulty is that many of the secondary laws (technically known as implementing and delegated acts) are not yet known. This means that in many cases we know by when certain targets must be met, but not always how. This creates a bottleneck, because adapting packaging or implementing new packaging systems takes time. Belgium needs to demonstrate a 5% reduction in packaging waste per capita by 2030, so there’s no time to lose.

Our main focus today is on guiding our members – the companies that put packaged products on the Belgian market – in understanding what the legislation means for them in practical terms. To this end, we’ll be providing advice, offering best practices, testing innovations and facilitating and scaling up projects. This is a perfect fit with our societal role: not only ensuring that single-use packaging is collected and recycled, but closing the loop for packaging materials. All this will mean thinking about alternative packaging systems, but equally influencing behaviour so that everyone, from producer to consumer, handles packaging responsibly.

In 2026, there are three major projects.

Reuse and refill

Starting in February next year, catering outlets with a takeaway service for drinks or food will be required to offer a system where consumers can bring their own container or cup to be filled on the spot. A year later, these businesses will also have to offer a system of reusable packaging. Reuse and refill systems require significant consumer engagement, and consumers are not yet fully on board. The Environmental Barometer, in which we surveyed Belgian consumers last year, showed that there is a great deal of interest in reuse. 80% of Belgians believe there is too much disposable packaging, but concerns regarding price, convenience and hygiene remain barriers. Yet broad adoption is the prerequisite for scalability for entrepreneurs, and thus for profitability.

Recyclability

Europe is pushing hard for the recyclability of packaging and is developing an evaluation framework for this purpose. This goes so far that packaging deemed insufficiently recyclable according to this classification could eventually be banned from being placed on the market.

Labelling

Businesses will soon face adjustments to labelling. Packaging must carry a label indicating how it should be sorted, and consumers must also be able to find this information on waste bins. Europe’s starting point is achieving uniformity: from Norway to Portugal and everywhere in between. For many countries, this represents progress, and they are happy to have a clear framework. For countries like Belgium, which are already far along the way, this does bring with it significant challenges though.

It is up to EPR organisations to make their members aware that the PPWR is coming and to help them prepare for it, together with the relevant sector federations. Where there is still uncertainty but decisions are needed at the same time, we will smooth the way as much as possible together with Valipac and EPR organisations abroad. Pilot projects should be able to help with making choices now. These are exciting times in the packaging world.