2024 Bio-Waste Sorting Law in Wallonia: Up to €1,000,000 Fine for Non-Compliance

2024-03-22 10:24:00

This is the big change in 2024 which could be very expensive for all Walloons: “Up to 200,000 euros or 1,000,000 euros fine in the event of non-compliance”

This is a measure which has become compulsory since January 1, 2024 and which will disrupt the daily life of all Walloons.

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By Sudinfo with Belga Published on 02/01/2024 at 11:54

Sorting bio-waste with a view to its recovery has become compulsory in the south of the country since January 1, 2024, for both individuals and professionals, reports the Public Service of Wallonia (SPW) on its website.

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For most individuals, the implementation of this obligation does not, however, result in any change since almost all Walloon municipalities have already implemented separate management of this type of waste for households. The very last municipalities to have not yet organized this separate collection are therefore taking the plunge.

How it works ?

By biodegradable organic waste we mean the remains of fruits and vegetables (including woody parts, dried fruits and stones); eggshells; kitchen waste and leftover food (raw and cooked, but cold) by eliminating excess liquids; rice, bread, biscuits, pasta and starchy foods; spoiled food without packaging; coffee grounds and tea filters and other infusion drinks; used paper towels, napkins and tissues; and biodegradable litter for small pets.

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On the other hand, oils and liquids should be avoided; pieces of meat, fish, shellfish, mussels, shellfish, bones in large quantities; plastics and packaging (such as yogurt pots, mozzarella bags, cold meat wrappers, oiled, plasticized or aluminum paper, etc.); cigarette butts and ashes; powders or other cleaning products; chemical products ; diapers; dog droppings; and plant waste (mowing, leaves, pruning waste, etc.).

One year ahead

In Wallonia, regulations require municipalities to collect, on the one hand, green waste and, on the other hand, to put in place the necessary conditions so that, no later than January 1, 2025, all citizens can effectively separate organic waste from the flow of household waste. The objective is to be able to biomethanize or compost them, including at home.

Failure to comply with sorting and recycling obligations at source or selective collection constitutes a category 2 environmental offense

This date has, however, been brought forward by one year due to the execution of obligations set by the European Union and the new Walloon decree relating to waste.

Depending on the area, several options are available to individuals: door-to-door collection of organic waste, deposit of it in voluntary drop-off points (buried containers placed in public spaces, at image of those intended to receive the packaging glasses) or recyparcs, or even composting at home or in your neighborhood.

Citizens are invited to consult the website of their municipality and/or their intermunicipal waste management company.

Several benefits

Bio-waste represented 41% of the composition of household trash cans in Wallonia in 2018, underlines Walloon Minister of the Environment Céline Tellier (Ecolo). Separating organic waste from other household waste not only reduces the content of “all-purpose” trash bags but also uses the heat produced by the decomposition of this “green” waste to transform it into biogas via the biomethanization process. . Sorting also allows the production of compost, a valuable resource for enriching and preserving soil, she insists.

“The first step to lighten your trash, however, is to avoid food waste, which is still far too high,” recommends the minister.

Also for professionals

Also for professionals, including the self-employed, sorting of bio-waste is now compulsory. This concerns both private and public companies, the catering industry, schools, hospitals, food businesses, municipalities and even traders, i.e. any actor producing or holding biowaste, that is to say food waste and plant waste from gardens and parks.

They are therefore required to organize themselves, sort their waste and find an approved collector or recycle their bio-waste themselves in order to meet this obligation.

Please note that, still for professionals, the minimum threshold of 2.5 m3 per week below which green waste should not be sorted and selectively collected will no longer apply. Sorting will be necessary regardless of the quantities produced, insists the SPW.

This sorting obligation implies the implementation, in certain situations and for certain professionals, of appropriate logistics. Therefore, an adaptation period is envisaged at the end of which an evaluation of the implementation of the obligation will be carried out (during 2024) with the sectoral federations concerned, before the implementation of an adapted control program, Minister Tellier said.

What risque-t-on?

“Failure to comply with sorting and recycling obligations at source or selective collection constitutes a category 2 environmental offense,” announces the SPW Environnement. “According to the decree of November 24, 2021 relating to environmental delinquency, the penalties incurred for a category 2 offense range from €150 to €200,000 administrative fine (therefore for individuals, Editor’s note), a criminal fine of 100 € to €1,000,000 and 8 days to 3 years of imprisonment. »

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Individuals and professionals can go to the Wallonia Environment portal (where they will find all the useful information on the sorting of bio-waste, the regulations and their practical arrangements.
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