What do we see?
The graph below shows the evolution of the amount of litter and fly-tipping cleared in Flanders in recent years. The total amount of litter cleared in Flanders has decreased by almost 20% in 2021 compared to 2019. Compared to 2015, we see an 11% decrease in litter. At the same time, the amount of litter cleared increases from 22,592 tonnes in 2015 to 28,600 tonnes in 2021, an increase of more than 25%.
What’s the aim?
Litter and fly-tipping are leaks in our material flows and have a negative impact on the environment. They are therefore totally undesirable in a circular economy. What is cleaned up from them is usually not recycled. In a circular economy, we would like to see these flows quickly drop to zero, so that the efforts of cleaning up can also be eliminated.
The 2016-2022 Implementation Plan set a target that the total amount of litter cleared from the ground should decrease by 20% (by weight) by 2022 compared to 2013; this target was not met. The Local Materials Plan 2023-2030 sets a target of reducing the total amount of cleaned-up litter on the ground by at least 20% by 2030 compared to 2023. The Local Materials Plan also states that the number of pieces of litter per 100 m2 should decrease by 20% by 2030 compared to 2023 for a number of typical environments such as e.g. shopping streets and highway car parks; for other environments there should be no significant increase. Regarding leakage flows, the Flemish Action Plan on Marine Litter states that the inflow of litter into the marine environment should be reduced by 75% by 2025. There are no concrete targets for fly-tipping because the quality of data on fly-tipping is currently insufficiently consistent.
