Fost Plus and Valipac: Over 1.5 Million Tonnes of Packaging Recycled

For the second year running, Fost Plus and Valipac are publishing their annual reports jointly. The two organisations, which implement extended producer responsibility for household and industrial packaging in Belgium, have together collected and recycled over 1.5 million tonnes of single-use packaging. They have done so against a backdrop of unprecedented regulatory change: the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and the Waste Shipment Regulation – two major EU regulations – come into force in 2026 and are reshaping the packaging sector. It is against this backdrop that Fost Plus and Valipac are strengthening their partnership.

‘With over 3,000 shared customers, we see plenty of opportunities to improve our services. Together, we are shaping the future — for our customers, for our partners and for a more sustainable planet.’
​Francis Huysman, CEO of Fost Plus and Valipac

2025 saw the consolidation of the two organisations’ partnership. On 8 October 2025, Fost Plus and Valipac signed a memorandum of understanding with their French (Citeo and Citeo Pro), Dutch (Verpact) and Luxembourgish (Valorlux) counterparts as part of a BeNeFraLux partnership focusing on administrative simplification, Design for Recycling (packaging design with a view to recyclability), recycled material and extended producer responsibility for business packaging.

In Belgium, the two organisations also work together within Round, the umbrella association for Belgian producer organisations. Round develops practical tools for businesses, including a national platform for online marketplaces. This platform, modelled on Round, provides a nationwide solution for the automated, secure and targeted exchange of administrative data between Belgian producer organisations and online marketplaces, enabling them to comply effectively with their legal obligations.

A solid track record for both organisations

In 2025, Fost Plus members and Valipac customers placed more than 5.4 million tonnes of packaging — both household and industrial — on the Belgian market. Out of this total, 43% of household packaging and 82% of business packaging by weight was already reusable, reflecting a firmly established circular economy.

In the case of single-use packaging, 827,000 tonnes of household packaging and 726,000 tonnes of business packaging were recycled in 2025 — a total of more than 1.5 million tonnes.

Preparing for the transition

‘The packaging world is undergoing a major transformation. As leading organisations for producers, Valipac and Fost Plus are ready to provide guidance in this rapidly changing landscape, whilst supporting our customers in the transition to more sustainable packaging.’
​Francis Huysman, CEO of Fost Plus and Valipac

The European Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste, which comes into force on 12 August 2026, will bring about major changes across the entire sector: ambitious targets for reuse, the incorporation of recycled materials and the recyclability of packaging. The Waste Shipments Regulation, which comes into force in November 2026, will ban the export of plastic waste to non-OECD countries — a deadline that directly affects a significant proportion of business plastic packaging that is currently still recycled outside Europe.

In light of these deadlines, the two organisations have already taken concrete steps: identifying local recycling solutions, organising joint webinars for businesses and carrying out packaging audits.

^{About Fost Plus}

^{Since 1994, Fost Plus has been driving the transition towards sustainable packaging management. The citizen is at the heart of an approach designed to prevent raw materials from ending up as waste. To this end, Fost Plus is putting in place effective systems to ensure proper sorting everywhere and at all times, is working with some 5,000 members to improve packaging design in order to make it more recyclable, and is rethinking how packaging materials are used collectively.}

^{Fost Plus works closely with citizens, businesses, public authorities and experts to collect and recycle household packaging placed on the market by its members, thereby putting extended producer responsibility into practice. Seventy dedicated staff members are working to change behaviour in order to keep the environmental impact of our production and consumption patterns as low as possible. By building sustainable supply chains, Fost Plus is helping to create a better society and a cleaner environment for everyone.}

^{About Valipac}

^{Since 1997, Valipac has been managing extended producer responsibility for industrial packaging in Belgium. The organisation supports some 6,200 business customers in meeting their legal obligations, whilst guiding them towards more sustainable and circular packaging solutions. Through its sorting incentives, packaging assessments and support tools, Valipac encourages businesses to improve the recyclability of their packaging, incorporate more recycled materials and increase the use of reusable packaging.}

^{In collaboration with 220 affiliated collectors, Valipac works to ensure the transparency of waste streams and the traceability of recycling destinations. The organisation also represents the interests of the industrial packaging sector at European level, notably through EXPRA and EPRO.}