VALORLUX a.s.b.l. is the registered body that was created on the private sector's initiative (retailers, importers, producers), and whose aim is to promote, coordinate and financially support selective collection, sorting and recycling of household packaging waste and similar waste in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Its proactive action strives to cover the whole of the Luxembourg territory. VALORLUX is pursuing its aims within the framework of the grand-ducal Regulation of October 31st, 1998 which is the transposition into national legislation of the EU "Packaging and Packaging Waste" Directive 94/62/EC. Furthermore, VALORLUX owns the "Green Dot" trademark and license of utilization for the country.
Put on a product’s packaging, the symbol means that for this packaging a financial contribution has been paid to a local organization of packaging management that was set up according to the EU directive 94/62/EC. The "Green Dot" symbol doesn't mean that the packaging on which it is put is collected to be recycled, nor that it is manufactured from recycled materials.
Sorting waste is not a vain gesture. Just look at the number of packages you throw away every day! By sorting them, you will contribute in recovering several thousand tons of used household packages, which will then be given a second life. All to the benefit of our environment and the quality of our lives! All household packages put in the blue PMC bag will be recycled or recovered.
By becoming a member of VALORLUX, the company transfers its obligation to take back and recover its household packaging waste and similar waste as foreseen in the modified grand-ducal Regulation dated 31/10/1998. It is then up to VALORLUX to reach the recycling and recovery rates required in the name of the member company.
There are actually several answers to this question:
Technical reasons: Yoghurt containers are made of several different types of plastics (i.e. PP, PS, opaque and transparent PET) which look a lot like each other and are hard to distinguish by the naked eye when doing manual sorting, as is the case for the content of PMC bags at the sorting centre of Bech-Kleinmacher. Moreover, these containers are often dirty upon arrival, which reduces the quality of their materials.
Financial reasons: The sorting that is done manually to separate the different types of packaging has a certain cost. The cost is the same for the sorting of a 200 gram container or for the packaging of some dairy products like yoghurt, which only weigh 10 gram. Sorting such light-weight packaging would be an additional burden on the economic viability of the system.
So, for all the reasons mentioned here, yoghurt containers are not accepted in the blue bag or in selective sorting in general for the time being. The quality of the bag-based sorting system offered by VALORLUX is also a sign of respect of the consumer and of the future of our environment.
When will PMC Collection start in my municipality?
You can always seek information with your municipality or your mayor to know if the project is pending or you can also send a letter to express your wish that PMC packages be collected in your municipality.
When are the blue bags collected in my municipality?
See the "Collection Timetable". Select your municipality (and if necessary your round or your street) and you will know exactly the collecting days of your blue bags.
Why are PMC packages collected selectively in blue bags?
Collecting glass, paper and cardboard packaging is done successfully through other collection systems implemented by municipalities and unions (container parks, containers…). In this collection system, VALORLUX also intervenes financially giving a lump sum for each ton of waste collected and recycled.
If the recycling rate of glass, paper and cardboard packaging has since always been satisfactory, the situation was different for plastic packaging, metal cans and beverage cartons.
After a few pilot tests for the selective collection of these types of packaging in 1997, it appeared that door-to-door collection with a blue bag would bring more material back and win the favours of the public in comparison to the other collection systems tested.
PMC is an acronym used to designate Plastic bottles and containers, Metal packaging and beverage Cartons. The blue bags of the door-to-door selective collection are only made to receive such PMC packages and may not contain plastic foil, yoghurt containers, glass bottles or paper and cardboard packaging.
The contribution of companies is calculated on the basis of information communicated when description sheets are filled out for each type of packaging (i.e. composition, weight and number of such packaging units placed on the market in the previous year) and the member company is invoiced on a quarterly basis. Membership is retroactive to 01.01.1999 or the date products were first put on the market. An affiliation fee must be paid; it amounts to one fourth of the yearly financial contribution, i.e. 25%.
