1. Waste and WEEE management in Flanders Technical Assistance for the EU-India APSF Environment Component Geel,
Christof Delatter
Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities
Tel

2. This Presentation Flanders
Results of Flemish household waste management
Competences
Collection of household waste
Reuse
Producer’s responsibility
WEEE

3. Flanders (1) 3 Belgian regions: Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia
Land area Flanders: ± km² (45% of Belgium)
Flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills
Population: just over 6 million
Population density: ± 440 inh./km²
Intense pressures from human activities: densely populated, dense transportation network, industry, intensive cattle breeding (millions of porcs, chickens, cows) and crop cultivation
High quantities of waste ↔ pressure on land use

4. Flanders (2) 308 municipalities
Average population: ± inh/municipality
Smallest municipality: 84 inhabitants
Largest city: inhabitants
Rural municipalities as well as densely populated cities
All are member of VVSG
Waste management largely organized through intermunicipal cooperation

5. Flemish waste management: results (1)
Very successful separate collection:
Results at the top
Doorstep collection of lots of recyclables
Bring system (> 340 civic amenity sites)
Very high recycling rate
2002: first year in which the growth in waste production stopped
Since 2006: no more landfilling of household waste
Commercial waste…?

6. Flemish waste management: results (2)

7. Flemish waste management: results (3)
2009
1991
Production
551 kg
/inhabitant/year
406 kg
Separate collection (total)
402 kg
73 %
75 kg
= 18 %
Residual waste
149 kg*
331 kg
*all of it incinerated with energy recovery

8. Competences (1)

9. Regions: considerable political autonomy
Competences (2)
Regions: considerable political autonomy
Region fully responsible for environmental matters (incl. spatial planning), except:
Nuclear waste
Waste transit through Belgium
Product Policy
European and International Policy (joint decisionmaking)
Cooperation mechanisms between regions

10. Competences (3)
One public waste authority on Flemish (regional) level, established in 1981 (OVAM), responsible for working out regional waste management plans
Municipalities are responsible for the collection and treatment of household waste
Own (inter)municipal services; Tendering; Public-private partnerships
Producer responsibility for certain waste streams, WEEE amongst others
Commercial waste: ‘free market’

11. Competences (4)
We strongly believe in the importance of integrated waste management on municipal level because:
good waste management demands close contact with and full participation by the citizens;
this allows optimal community service;
creation of ‘market conditions’ on the local level: access for small companies = more players on the market;
public utilities and private waste management companies push each other to more efficiency and more effectiveness;
pure free market?: it is doubtful that private waste management companies would stimulate waste prevention

12. Separate collection of waste (1)
Paper and cardboard: monthly
In some regions: VFG (at least every two weeks)
Glass: monthly or in bottle banks
Packaging waste: at least monthly (mostly every two weeks)
Textile: 4 times a year or containers
Garden waste: at least four times a year
Metals: at least two times a year
Re-usable materials: on demand
Residual – not-recyclable waste: weekly
Carried out by municipality, intermunicipal
organisation or in cooperation with
private waste management companies

13. Separate collection of waste (2)
Bring system: >340 collection sites (1/ inh.) for paper and cardboard, glass, packaging waste, textile, construction and demolition waste, garden waste, metals, wood, specific dangerous waste from households, batteries, WEEE, large refuse

14. Reuse centers (1) Not for profit organisations Three objectives:
Waste reduction through reuse of discarded products
Selling reusable goods at discount prices
Creating jobs for the poorly skilled
In Flanders: over 100 selling points for reusable goods
Contract with the municipalities
Reuse centers receive a fee just below regular disposal cost for the collected goods
Communication
Reuse centers have a network of repair shops

15. Reuse centers (2) 2009: 2.976 employees in Flemish reuse centers (FTE)
Strong engagement in social employment: specific training of people with difficulties finding a regular job
Collect over 8 kg of reusable goods per inhabitant
Over 3,6 million costumers in reuse shops

16. Producer responsibility in Flanders
1994: introduction of principle of producer responsibility in our legislation
Shops  distributors  producers/importers – in proportion to the share on the market: REVERSE LOGISTICS
Individual obligation but can be organised through cooperation between producers in a ‘recognised organism’, which signs a voluntary agreement with government
Since 1997: decision for gradual introduction of PR for magazines and newspapers, printed publicity, batteries & accumulators, expired medicines, tyres, WEEE, motor-oil, frying fat and oil
Separate legislation for PR on packaging waste

17. WEEE - legislation (1)
1997: decision for gradual introduction of PR for WEEE: 1 for 1 take back obligation to start on 1st of July 1999
But……
Municipalities already collected WEEE on civic amenity sites (mostly as scrap metal)
Producers not very keen to start with own collection system
Hard negotiations about responsibilities and cost of collection
“Agreement” between producers and central government was reached in 2001
Collection by the producers started on 1st of July 2001 (2 years later than required in legislation)
Only one recognized organism of WEEE-industry in Belgium (for household WEEE) : Recupel

18. WEEE - legislation (2)
Today: 1 for 0 obligation and deal covering costs for collection on civic amenity sites
Recupel:
“Umbrella” Not for profit organisation of producers and importers
Receives the environmental fees paid by consumers
Organises tenders for collection and treatment (is no collector of waste itself)
Has to agree on contracts with local authorities collecting WEEE
Reports on quantities put on the market and collected for recycling

19. WEEE - Financing (1) Consumer Reuse centers Recupel (producers)
Municipalities
Shops
Waste companies
Regional transfer stations (intermunicipal)
Tax payer

20. WEEE - Collection (1) Consumer Municipality Reuse center Shop
Waste transportation company
Regional transfer station (intermunicipal organisation)
Recycling/treatment companies

22. Financial compensations for local authorities (1)
Civic amenity sites: Flemish municipalities receive lump sum based on decision by Flemish Minister
Basis was cost calculation model developed by VVSG (definition of a reference CAS)
Total cost is calculated and divided over all waste streams
Infrastructure: proportional to the surface taken
Personnel: allocated based on workload per waste stream and frequency with which people bring a certain waste stream to the containerpark
Overhead-cost of 10% is added
Calculation leads to (for WEEE):
Lump sum per inhabitant per year - 0,2365 €/inh*year
Lump sum per tonne collected - 27,9 €/tonne
Coupled to inflation

23. Financial compensations for local authorities (2)
Regional transfer stations:
Negotiations have lead to
a compensation of 100 €/tonne
yearly indexation

24. QUESTIONS ?