Together with its partners, Valipac makes things possible!
Valipac has a unique position in Europe. We are the only organisation that specifically manages C&I packaging. Not only do we exceed the European recycling targets, but together with our partners, we work daily on the circular economy of C&I packaging. An economy that focuses on four areas of action.
1. PROMOTING RECYCLABILITY AND CIRCULARITY
Acting together for a circular economy starts with the empowerment of all stakeholders. Our customers have a very important role to play here by looking for the most sustainable packaging. Our role is to guide our customers as best we can towards more circularity in their choice of corporate packaging.
What do we do to promote recyclability and circularity?
In 2020, we completed the circular shrink film made from half recycled material and half a blend of virgin polymers. The process is economically viable and has deliberately not been patented to encourage mass dissemination.
The collaboration with Wienerberger has been emulated in the construction sector. Other leading companies in this sector are currently testing their packaging to replace virgin material with recycled material.
WienerbergerandCoeckshare here with us their experience with circular shrink films.
Packaging diagnostics
Do you want to optimise the use of packaging in your company but don’t know how to go about it? Call on our packaging diagnostics!
During a half-day audit, we will take a close look at the household and industrial packaging you use to market your goods in search of quick wins.
how sustainable is your packaging?
how can you optimise your logistics with the right packaging?
is all your packaging necessary?
are there more sustainable alternatives?
…
Through these questions and many others, our advisors will help you to make clearer choices regarding your packaging.
The packaging diagnostics are carried out in collaboration with Fost Plus, the Belgian Packaging Institute, MPR&S (University of Hasselt) and CELABOR. They are free of charge for Fost Plus and Valipac customers.
Due to a lack of processing capacity and too little demand for recycled material in Europe, much of our industrial plastic packaging is recycled outside of Europe. Valipac intends to boost recycling in Europe by stimulating the use of recycled materials in industrial packaging.
Valipac’s business customers can benefit from a bonus of €50/tonne for all industrial plastic packaging:
made from a minimum of 30% post-consumer recycled material
Inspiration needed? Have a look at the testimonial of Arnaud Wislez and Achmed Boumrah from Coca-Cola.
Recyclable plaster bags
By actively collaborating with our customers, we are working together to build a more sustainable future. It is within the framework of this mission that we successfully initiated and facilitated the improvement of Knauf’s plaster bags.
Didier Barillari and Jonathan Rocca from Knauf and Filip Vangeel from Valipac explain how the collaboration unfolded.
In collaboration with the construction sector, producers and traders, we have set up a system for collecting and recycling PU foam aerosols on construction sites.
It is a simple and practical system that allows contractors to keep their sites clean and comply with sorting requirements.
Wout Mertens from Valipac explains how the system works.
Collection and recycling of paint buckets
Thanks to the collaboration between Valipac, IVP Coating, AkzoNobel, PPG and Boss Paints, painters now have the option of returning their empty paint buckets free of charge.
This collection system is currently being rolled out in the province of Antwerp.
2. ENCOURAGING SELECTIVE COLLECTION IN COMPANIES
The recycling targets imposed by the new Cooperation Agreement, which governs the management of household and industrial packaging for the three Belgian regions, are very ambitious.
Increasing the already high recycling rates is a challenge. Capturing the remaining tonnages requires great efforts. But these efforts have resulted in a nice gradual increase in the overall recycling rate and, in particular, in the plastic recycling rate.
Overall, companies are sorting more and better, but there is still room for improvement.
What are we doing to stimulate sorting in companies?
What are my company’s obligations? Am I entitled to certain incentives? What happens to my waste once it has been sorted and removed? These are questions that many entrepreneurs and managers ask themselves. jetriedansmonentreprise.be now provides them with all the answers.
Incentives for sorting packaging waste
Actively organising the recycling of your packaging waste is a legal obligation for all companies. In return for its efforts, your company can benefit from several incentives linked to the sorting of your industrial packaging.
Clean Site System is a department of Valipac that focuses on the construction sector. Since 2005, we have been promoting the collection of plastic packaging films from construction sites.
What is the objective of the Clean Site System?
to offer contractors a cost-effective solution to dispose of plastic waste from their construction sites in a simple and low-cost way
to protect the environment as the collected plastic is recycled and used as a raw material in the manufacture of other products.
Almost 50% of industrial packaging waste is treated in Belgium.
The destination of industrial packaging waste varies according to the type of material. The vast majority of wood and metals, for example, are processed in Belgium. 75% of paper/cardboard is recycled in Europe. Plastic, on the other hand, is mainly recycled outside Europe. Overall, we can estimate that Belgium processes just under half of the industrial packaging waste it produces.
What actions are we taking to ensure traceability and guarantee recycling?
Thanks to contracts with traders and the collaboration of affiliated collectors, we are the first organisation in Europe to have succeeded in establishing a precise map of industrial plastic packaging waste of Belgian origin. Today, we have a clear picture of the final destinations of 99% of the plastic packaging waste from Belgium.
40% of industrial plastic packaging waste is treated in Europe
Of the 62,300 tonnes of industrial plastic packaging collected by the affiliated collectors in 2021, 40% was recycled in Europe (including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, etc.), 40% in Asia (including Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc.) and 20% in Turkey.
Nele Vlecken from Valipac explains why this is important.
Audits at recyclers
In collaboration with our partner SGS, we carry out audits at the identified recyclers in order to check the effectiveness of the recycling of the quantities delivered, i.e. to ensure that the quantities delivered have been fully recycled and to guarantee compliance with the “broadly equivalent conditions” defined by the European Union (to check that the recycler does not use child or forced labour, that proper living conditions on the site are guaranteed as well as the general environmental and safety conditions).
In 2022, SGS conducted 21 audits at recyclers in Asia (11) and Turkey (10), bringing the total number of audits conducted by SGS since 2021 to 27. These audits allowed us to verify the effective recycling of 64% of the quantities of industrial plastic packaging waste exported outside Europe.
Bonus for recycling by certified recyclers
Since 2022, we grant a financial incentive of €5/tonne to affiliated collectors or traders who have their industrial plastic packaging waste processed by a RecyClassor equivalent certified recycler.
EuCertPlast is a European certification programme for plastics recycling. EuCertPlast (or equivalent) certification of recyclers provides additional guarantees of effective recycling and compliance with broadly equivalent conditions.
4. STIMULATING LOCAL RECYCLING
Local recycling is a medium-term objective for which we are already laying the groundwork. We want to gradually attract exported waste to local facilities. To this end, we are setting up a financial incentive system to stimulate local recycling of industrial plastic packaging waste. At the same time, we are increasing the number of innovative projects to demonstrate that it is perfectly possible to use materials from selective collection to make new packaging.
Local recycling, or recycling within the EU, is the cornerstone of greater circularity, as flows that are recycled locally are more sustainable and better traceable. It also offers more guarantees on actual recycling.
From 2022 onwards, we stimulate local recycling of industrial plastic packaging waste through 2 types of bonuses:
A bonus of €20/tonne for materials recycled within the EU.
A bonus of €10/tonne for materials recycled in Belgium or its immediate surroundings.
An additional bonus of €5/tonne is granted if the material is recycled by EuCertPlast certified recyclers (or equivalent). These bonuses are cumulative. They are awarded to affiliated collectors or traders who can prove that they have directly and effectively recycled plastic packaging waste of Belgian origin in the EU.
