Belgium: ecotax thrown out by Belgian Court

The Belgian government‘‘s plans to impose a tax on non-refillable containers have twice been ruled discriminatory and annulled by the Belgian Court of Arbitration. Europen reports that the Belgian government‘‘s response has been to introduce a revised tax, now also applicable on refillable beverage containers, which took effect on 10 April 2007.



This leaves the tax on non-refillable containers unchanged, in line with the Court‘‘s decision, but taxes refillable containers at 1/7 of the rate for non-refillables, on the assumption that refillables will be reused 7 times.



The revised tax rates as published in the Belgian gazette are:



EUR 9.86 per hectolitre for non-refillables

EUR 1.41/hl for refillables

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Egypt reviews Red Sea waste management system – Dailynewsegypt

Egypt’s Minister of Local Development and Environment, Manal Awad, and Red Sea Governor Walid El-Barqi held an extensive meeting to review the performance of the governorate’s waste management system and discuss measures to improve environmental services and operational efficiency. The meeting, held during Awad’s visit to the Red Sea Governorate to mark World Environment Day, focused on assessing current challenges facing waste collection, sorting, recycling and disposal operations, as well as identifying priority actions to strengthen the system’s performance. Awad stressed that the government places significant importance on developing an integrated waste management system in the Red Sea Governorate, given its strategic importance as one of Egypt’s leading tourism destinations. She emphasized the need to comply with environmental and technical standards governing sanitary landfills, waste treatment facilities and environmentally sound disposal practices. During the meeting, officials reviewed the current status of waste management operations in Hurghada, including collection, transportation, sorting, recycling and final disposal activities. Discussions also covered the infrastructure upgrades required to improve system efficiency and ensure the proper operation of sanitary landfill facilities. Yasser Abdullah, head of Egypt’s Waste Management Regulatory Authority, presented updates on temporary waste collection and sorting sites and outlined measures to strengthen operational management and oversight. He highlighted the importance of improving monitoring mechanisms for waste handling activities and maximizing the recovery of recyclable materials while reducing informal and unregulated practices.