The Openbare Vlaamse Afvalstoffenmaatschappij (OVAM), or Public Waste Agency of Flanders, is a Flemish government agency established in 1981. It is responsible for developing and implementing policies on sustainable waste and materials management, soil remediation, and pollution prevention across Flanders, Belgium.
OVAM regulates waste handling under frameworks like the Materials Decree and VLAREMA, enforcing landfill and incineration bans to promote recycling, reuse, and circular economy practices. It supports separate collection at source, extended producer responsibility, and initiatives to reduce residual waste, including weight-based tariffs for businesses and mandatory organic waste separation.
Recognized internationally as a frontrunner, OVAM coordinates the transition to a circular economy through public-private partnerships like Circular Flanders and addresses soil contamination, aiming to initiate remediation for all historical sites by 2036. Its efforts encompass industrial waste streams relevant to the chemical sector, such as packaging materials (PMD) transport and sorting projects.
