Per City, Per Rule

To begin with, each city or region has its own waste management company in Belgium. Municipalities are responsible for managing household waste, and they cooperate with waste management associations to make this process more efficient. That being said, there are different rules on how and when your garbage will be collected. 

Typically, depending on the street you live on, there is a particular time or day of the week of garbage collection.

All in all, there are three major ways of disposal:

1. Collect in front of each household

2. Disposal at Collection Points

3. Disposal at Recycling Container Parks

Plastics, for example, are then sent in blue PMD bags to one of the five sorting centers in Belgium, Willebroek, Evergem, Couillet, Mons, Liège.

To receive more essential information , we rocmmend you to visit Recycle! app for free and Fort Plus website.

Sorting and Recycling

The four major categories of waste are PMD, Residual Waste, Paper-Cardboard, and Glass. Here is how you can sort them correctly:

PMD: plastic packaging, metal packaging, drink cartons

*packaging of more than 8 liters no longer belongs to this category

*batteries, electronic devices, and wires should be dumped seperately in specific places 

Paper-Cardboard: newspappers/magazines, folders, printing paper, cardboard packaging

*greasy paper (with food) or cardboard no longer belongs to this category

Glass: white or colored glass bottles, jars, and containers

*some stores provide machines to return glass bottles (with assgined barcode) and get a small amount of refund

For more tips on recycling and sorting, we recommend you to visit this page.

Garbage Bags

In each city, there are also different bags used for sorting waste, varying from color to size. Usually these bags are available in most supermarkets, and they can be found either on the stack or behind counter, then you simply have to tell the salesclerk while having other items checked out at the counter. 

Be aware that your garbage will not be taken away if you do not use the correct bag or put it out on time. In fact, if you bring it out at the wrong time, you could receive a fine if caught. Here are the waste management companies in charge in three major cities of our community:

Kortrijk: Imog

Bruges: IVBO

Roeselare: MIROM 

Here is also the Public Waste Agency of the region of Flanders- OVAM.

*These websites are mostly in Dutch and do not provide an English translation. If needed, we suggest that you reach them directly by phone call or mail.