The amount of rubbish is decreasing insufficiently: the introduction of a deposit on cans and PET packaging is ‘inevitable’ according to Demir | interior

Flanders set a clear target for the sector in 2018. By the end of 2023, the amount of garbage had to be reduced by 20 percent compared to 2015. At the start of the Legislative Council, Minister Demir decided to tighten this deadline by one year.

However, according to the latest OVAM waste figures, the sector has not been successful in achieving this goal. Compared to 2015, there is only an 11% decrease. The amount of illegal dumping decreased for the first time in 2021 compared to the previous measurement period in 2019, but compared to 2015, the numbers are still 27 percent higher. According to Fleming criteria, litter will decrease from 3.44 kg in 2019 to 2.73 kg in 2021. The dumping of flies decreases from 4.48 kg to 4.30 kg per head.

“According to the latest garbage figures, the goal was barely halved, despite the fact that the Corona crisis was still very much present at the beginning of 2021, and therefore achieving the goal should be relatively easier. Events began again only in the fall And higher education was still quite a bit far in the spring,” Minister Demir answers.

It is now inevitable for Demir to have a deposit. “Deposits can be one solution to today’s garbage problem,” says the book.

Although that won’t be until tomorrow. Consultations are planned with various stakeholders and other territories, who will complete their own investigations into the litter. After that, the Flemish government has to cut the knot and the regulatory work can begin. It is known from the coalition partner CD & V that the party is willing to pay a deposit. We are looking forward to the position of Open Vld, the other ruling party.

In addition to the amounts of garbage cleared, the cleanliness of the environment in Flanders is also measured. Compared to 2015, the hygiene index will remain the same in 2021. However, this hides significant differences between ecological types, with a decrease in the cleanliness of parking lots on the highway and waste collection points and an increase in central streets. The goal of progressing in the three lowest-ranking environment types was also not achieved. There was even a deterioration of parking on the highway.

The Deposit Alliance is pleased with Demir’s statement that depositing in cans and PET bottles is “inevitable.” Since the beginning of her term, Minister Demir of Industry has warned. Now you draw the logical conclusion from the bad garbage characters and take action. After the business community has been given years to reduce litter in other ways, now is the time for filing, a system that has been successful for years in Germany, the Netherlands and dozens of other countries, she said.

Depositing funds very quickly leads to positive results according to the Deposit Alliance. “In Flanders, more than a third of the volume of litter consists of plastic bottles and cans. Sediment can reduce the number of bottles and cans in litter by 70 to 90 per cent. A year after the introduction of the bottle deposit in the Netherlands, nature is reduced by 76 per cent”, according to movement.

214 Flemish municipalities and 129 Walloon municipalities are partners in the Trust Alliance. Since 2017, the alliance, along with farmers and consumer organizations, businesses and even banks, has been asking regional governments to make a quick deposit on beverage packaging.