The Belgian food industry has drawn up a new prevention plan to save on packaging in the coming years.
Over a period of 15 years, 33% more food products have been sold in Belgium, but the amount of packaging has remained stable, according to the federation of the Belgian food industry Fevia.
The sector has saved an average of 56,000 tonnes of packaging per year, the federation said, which corresponds to about 5 kg per Belgian per year, reports Het Nieuwsblad. Packaging has become thinner in recent years, beverage bottles have gotten lighter, films on dishes have become less thick, or have simply been omitted.
However, the food sector wants to step up its efforts. "In a new prevention plan for more than 150 companies, we have put forward 742 measures that aim to prevent packaging," said Bart Buysse of Fevia, reports VRT.
"That's quite a challenge, just because of the function our packaging has," Buysse said. "They have to ensure food safety, shelf life, consumer information. You have to try to align that with sustainability, which requires a lot of effort and investment from companies," he added.
By 2023, Fevia wants to be able to recycle two-thirds of its plastic packaging, and by 2025, the industry wants to only sell products with reusable, recyclable, compostable or biodegradable packaging.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
