1.7bn kilos of waste imported in 2016, destined for re-use and recycling
Last year Flanders’ waste treatment companies dealt with twice as much imported waste as seven years previously, with 1% sent to landfill
Authority in the field
The majority of the waste comes from neighbouring countries, but there are also imports from Mexico, Uruguay, Nigeria and South Korea. Most of the waste is destined for re-use, recycling or the recovery of valuable raw materials. About a quarter is incinerated or treated chemically, with only 1% sent to landfill.
“We import waste because Flanders is an authority in the field of recycling,” Schauvliege said. The Flemish waste treatment industry employs 12,000 people and last year had a turnover of €3.7 billion.
“Some years nothing is dumped, other years there’s a few tonnes of waste from Luxembourg containing asbestos,” a spokesperson for the public waste materials agency Ovam told Het Laatste Nieuws. “For the time being, dumping in a special asbestos dump is the only option, but we are researching how it could be done better. We’re talking about extremely limited quantities, which are only permitted because Luxembourg doesn’t have its own treatment facility.”
Photo courtesy Ovam
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