Towards even more recyclable packaging
With the enlargement of the blue bag, almost all packaging will be recycled The polystyrene yoghurt pot will be recycled into new polystyrene, the PET tray will be recycled into new PET ... Even packaging made of different types of plastic will find a recycling stream. The objective of Fost Plus is not only to find a recycling solution for all packaging, but also to favor high quality value-added recycling. The more recyclable the packaging is, the lower the Green Dot will be. The more expensive the recycling line, the higher the Green Dot for this type of packaging. The objective is to evolve towards the simplest possible packaging consisting for example of a single type of plastic. The challenge ? Keep all the most useful features of the packaging to keep the product as efficiently as possible and not increase the amount of packaging.

Research, innovation and time
It is not in two shots of a spoon that you can replace one package with another. Easy solutions can be catastrophic. For example, replacing a plastic keyboard with a cardboard box with a plastic coating for wet products can cause serious problems in the carton recycling business. Less plastic maybe, but so much more non-recyclable packaging. Research and development work is therefore absolutely necessary. Many companies are working behind the scenes. In order to streamline the work, Flanders' FOOD and other competence centers will present at the end of this year a roadmap for the packaging of the future which places a strong emphasis on circular or bags packaging.

Another example: Valipac will launch a project to develop inks used on plastic films that have less negative impact on recycling. But it is not enough to find solutions, we must also introduce them to the market. However, adapt packaging machines requires huge investments. It will take time to see these new packaging on the market.

With eco-modulation, research and innovation, all the elements are in place so that all packaging is 100% recyclable by 2025 , as we are committed to as a sector, together with our companies and our partners.