The new cooperation agreement of 9 February 2026, which has since been approved by

•    the Walloon Parliament on 11 March 2026

•    the Brussels-Capital Region Parliament on 13 March 2026

•    the Flemish Parliament on 25 March 2026

 has recently been published in the Belgian Official Journal.

This cooperation agreement establishes Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for certain waste streams and for litter.

Unless otherwise specified, this Cooperation Agreement does not affect the applicable regional legislation on the prevention and management of waste, nor the Cooperation Agreement of 4 November 2008 on the prevention and management of packaging waste.

This Cooperation Agreement has a twofold objective:

•    It enables the interregional organisation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for waste streams other than packaging, which were previously managed separately by each Region. The practical implementation is carried out through implementing cooperation agreements for each waste stream. New product streams for which an interregional EPR scheme may be developed in the future include textiles, furniture and nappies.

•    In addition, the Cooperation Agreement introduces an EPR scheme for litter: producers of products that have a significant impact on litter contribute to the financing of clean-up and management costs.

The Cooperation Agreement also provides for a strengthened interregional organisation for the monitoring and coordination of EPR policy.

The Interregional Packaging Commission (IRPC) is being transformed into the Interregional Commission for EPR.

Within this structure, two decision-making bodies have been established: the Packaging Decision-Making Body and the EPR Decision-Making Body

IBE-BVI members may request a copy of the Cooperation Agreement on request: click here