Find all the answers to your questions here

It is not necessary to wash or rinse packaging. However, they must be completely empty. Once you have fully used up a product, you can then sort your packaging without having to clean it.

Yes, they should be left on. Plastic caps are recycled with bottles and containers.

Packaging that has contained toxic substances (e.g. paints, pesticides, insecticides) can be dangerous to humans. Consequently, they must be treated in a special way. These types of containers are part of household hazardous waste (HHW).

The Point Vert (Green Dot) logo is not a sorting instruction and therefore does not indicate that the container can be discarded in the PMC bag. The logo only means that the company that markets the product contributes to the financing of the selective collection and recycling system. It also does not mean that the packaging on which it is printed can be recycled or is made of recycled material.

If you want to know if your packaging qualifies as a PMC, it is best to consult the sorting rules for PMCs. For plastic packaging, please note that plastic bottles and containers belong to PMC.

The numbers in the triangle refer to the type of plastic the product is made of. However, the number does not indicate whether or not the package is considered to be PMC. Packages with the same number and thus consisting of the same type of plastic are not always treated or recycled in the same way. There are different plastic thicknesses and qualities that cannot always be recycled together. Often these packages (trays, cups, yoghurt cups, butter trays) are also only available in small quantities on the market, making the material unsuitable for recycling. If you want to know if your packaging qualifies as a PMC, it is best to consult the sorting rules for PMCs. For plastic packaging, please note that plastic bottles and containers belong to PMC.

Collectors have the specific task of visually checking the deposited PMC bags. If they contain non-compliant waste, they do not collect it. Instead, the collectors place a red rejection sticker on the bag. You must then remove the items that have not been sorted properly from the bag and put your bag back outside at the next collection. There is a similar procedure for paper-cardboard. Failure to retrieve a refused bag is punishable by a fine for improper deposit.

Other types of glass have a different chemical composition from glass in bottles, jars and containers and cannot be mixed with them. These include high-temperature resistant glass (oven-safe glass), opaline, crystal, windows and mirrors. These types of glass require a higher temperature to melt.

The melting temperature of materials such as porcelain and earthenware, stoneware bottles and jugs, heat-resistant dishes, etc. is higher than that of glass. As a result, unmelted fragments may end up in recycled bottles and greatly reduce their strength.

These light bulbs and tubes contain chemicals that can be dangerous during treatment. They are part of household hazardous waste (HHW).

Bottle or jar lids and caps are made from a wide variety of materials (plastic, metal, cork, etc.). These disrupt the recycling process of pure glass. In contrast, labels automatically disappear during the processing procedure and therefore do not pose any problems.

The better the sorting quality, the more efficient the recycling will be and the higher the quality of the recycled materials will be. The same is true for glass. For this reason, it is essential to separate tinted glass from colourless glass. Only colourless glass can be recycled into new colourless glass. Terracotta, earthenware, ceramics and porcelain are prohibited, as is heat-resistant glass, which is used in oven and microwave oven dishes and glass ceramic plates. The melting temperature of these materials is higher than that of ordinary glass. Unmelted fragments may end up in bottles made from recycled material and make them unusable.

These kinds of paper contain substances (e.g. cellophane, glue, etc.) that have a negative effect on paper recycling.

This plastic material disrupts the paper and cardboard sorting and recycling process.

Mandatory collection of PMCs applies to all businesses, regardless of the amount of waste. In Wallonia a minimum threshold of 60 litres of PMCs per week is currently enforced.

If you have a contract with a waste collector, the cost depends on the services and rate conditions described in your contract. If you use municipal collection, the collection cost is included in the PMC bag purchase price. The cost is a maximum of 0.25 euro per bag.

This is possible, if you can arrange this with your waste collector.

Follow the same rules that apply to the collection of other waste fractions. Discuss the approach with other companies in your building and with the waste collector.

Your company is responsible for the quality of PMC sorting. If you submit PMCs that do not meet the sorting rules, they may be rejected by the collector. Regardless of whether you have a contract with a waste collector or whether your PMCs are collected via municipal collection.