What do we see?
The amount of residual household waste in Flanders has continued to decrease since 2013. This trend can mainly be explained by the decrease in bulky household waste and general household rubbish as a result of a more targeted policy. For example, since 2013 there have been compulsory minimum charges for bulky household waste, the municipalities have to provide a separate container for hard plastics at recycling centres, and municipalities lagging behind are better monitored.
While in 2013 the amount of residual household waste being produced per Flanders inhabitant was 158.58 kg, in 2019 this dropped to 143.46 kg per inhabitant. This indicates a significant drop of 15 kg in the period 2013-2019.
What’s the aim?
One of the objectives of the implementation plan for household waste and comparative industrial waste is a further decrease to 138 kg of residual household waste per Flanders inhabitant by 2022.
In its Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030, Flanders has also committed to further reducing this to 100 kg of residual household waste per inhabitant by 2030.
What does this indicator measure?
The evolution of the total amount of residual household waste in Flanders is an indicator for the prevention of household waste. This indicator is important because the amount of residual waste – combined with the analysis on sorting – shows that continuing to focus on sorting is worthwhile.
