IRPC Activity Report 2019

1
The operation of the Interregional Packaging Commission (IRPC)

1.1 The tasks of the IRPC

The specific tasks of the IRPC include the following:

  1. Monitoring whether companies (parties responsible for packaging, aka “responsible companies”) and accredited compliance organisations are fulfilling their reporting and take-back (i.e. recycling and recovery) obligations.
  2. Checking the way in which the responsible companies and accredited compliance organisations meet their statutory recycling and recovery targets (expressed as a percentage).
  3. Approving or rejecting prevention plans of companies (responsible companies).
  4. Granting or refusing accreditation to the organisations responsible for the promotion, coordination and financing of selective collection, recycling and recovery of packaging waste.
  5. Assisting and advising the Regional governments, for example by creating consultative forums, providing logistical support or proposing legislative amendments.
  6. Conducting or commissioning studies and research into the management and prevention of packaging waste.
  7. Processing notifications from carriers transiting Belgium to transport waste that does not originate from Belgium and will not be processed there.

1.2 The composition of the IRPC

The composition of the decision-making body in 2019 was as follows:

Flemish Region

Full members Alternate members
Ann DE BOECK Luc GOETEYN
Hugo GEERTS / Victor DRIES Anneleen DE WACHTER
Danny WILLE (Chair since 05/03/2019) Roeland BRACKE

Brussels-Capital Region

Full members Alternate members
Livia SPEZZANI Valérie VERBRUGGE
Céline SCHAAR Grégoire CLERFAYT
Olivier BOSTEELS Janathan BARGIACCHI

Walloon Region

Full members Alternate members
Anne DUMONT (Chair until 04/03/2019) Eloise PIGNON
Joëlle BASTIN Clément POULAIN
Martine GILLET Jean-Yves MERCIER

The organisational structure of the Permanent Secretariat in 2019 was as follows:

Departments under the director

  • Director

    Hugo Geerts
    (until 30/11/2019)     		Marc Adams
    (since 01/12/2019)

    • Prevention, Research,
      Downstream external audit and transit department

      Caroline Auriel
      Head of department

    • General affairs
      and upstream external audit department

      Linda Vanden Broecke
      Head of department

    • Accreditations,
      Declarations and internal audit department

      Quentin Mathot
      Head of department
At the end of 2019, the Permanent Secretariat had a total of 18 members of staff, including several part-timers.

1.3. The 2019 budget of the IRPC

Budget - Actual expenditure IRPC 2019

Budget allocation key as set out in the Cooperation Agreement

1.4. The Extended Producer Responsibility Interregional Platform (EPRIP)

The IRPC acts as secretariat for the Extended Producer Responsibility Interregional Platform, which was created in 2009.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a common understanding on extended producer responsibility (EPR)

STRUCTURE

3 Regions
3 Regional authorities

HOW?

Structural exchange of relevant data

Explore the possibility of introducing a Cooperation Agreement on EPR (extended producer responsibility)

In order to provide an interregional framework, supplementing the Regions' legislation.