Waste collection, recovery and disposal activities

NACE 38

Current registrations1,622

Starters, 12 months125

Employment (FTE)20,436

Median age13.5 years

In NACE division 38, 7.7 companies per 100 started in the past twelve months, against 7.5 nationally; that is higher than that of 51% of the 86 other NACE divisions with this figure. Comparison: as of 14-10-2026 05:30.

Key figures for NACE division 38

financial year 2025 · median over 723 filed annual accounts

Median solvency

38.0%

lower than 78% of the 78 divisions with this figure

Median equity

€533,811

higher than 92% of the 78 divisions with this figure

Median net result

€25,458

higher than 77% of the 78 divisions with this figure

Annual accounts in sample

723

Foreign control in NACE division 38

986 registered companies

Companies with a foreign parent

2.0%

20 of 986; Belgium 0.3%

Staff at those companies

12%

1,942 of 16,317 FTE; Belgium 15%

Main parent countries: Netherlands (11), France (2) and Australia (1).Show on the map by municipality

Staff cost per FTE in NACE division 38

378 employers

Median

€67,800

Belgium €61,400

Middle half

€55,500 to €80,300

half of the employers lie between

Place among sectors

33 of 78

sectors with a median staff cost per FTE, highest first

By size class
Size	Median	Middle half	Employers
fewer than 10 FTE	€62,800	€50,900 to €76,200	171
10 to 49 FTE	€70,200	€57,600 to €80,200	143
50 to 249 FTE	€73,700	€67,100 to €87,700	50

Employers with the highest staff cost per FTE in this division All sectors by staff cost In the Analysis workbench

Bankruptcies

past five years

Bankruptcies (5y)

Historical share

2.59%

Nationally, 1.61% of current registrations have a published bankruptcy opening in the past five years. This sector's historical share is higher than that of 80% of the 87 other NACE divisions with this figure. The median bankruptcy probability in NACE division 38 is 0.4%, against 0.2% nationally, over 1,044 scored companies. Comparison: as of 14-10-2026 05:30.

Regional split

by region · 1,225 of 1,622 enterprises with a registered office on file

Flanders 800 · 65.3%

Wallonia 364 · 29.7%

Brussels 61 · 5.0%

Recent bankruptcies in this sector

Date	Company
23-09-2026	BKS Services BE 0787.759.566
06-07-2026	E-SUDUR BE 0845.316.594
24-06-2026	TYRE RECYCLING BELGIUM BE 0806.415.042
15-06-2026	SEVEN – METAL BE 0805.281.627
28-05-2026	GULDENTOPS BE 0779.462.603
07-05-2026	2SMART2WASTE BE 1007.467.338
04-05-2026	Amiante Group BE 0744.957.723
13-03-2026	Dodi, Dechanel BE 0797.188.659 · sole trader · Enghien

Geographic distribution

by province · based on the registered office

West Flanders WVL 203

East Flanders OVL 185

Antwerp ANT 194

Flemish Brabant VLB 85

Limburg LIM 133

Brussels BRU 61

Hainaut HAI 135

Walloon Brabant WBR 25

Namur NAM 48

Liège LIE 126

Luxembourg LUX 30

fewer moremax 203

Where are this sector's balance sheets registered? By municipality, down to the address

Subsidies in this sector

per register · legal entities with an enterprise number

Flemish subsidies €79.2m awarded 251 recipients · 2022 to 2025 · largest: Subsidies investeringen materialenbeheer lokale besturen
Federal transfers 143.5m amount as published 10 recipients · 2023 to 2025 · largest: Subsidie aan het IRE voor de verwerking van
Wallonia-Brussels Federation €7.8m paid 3 recipients · 2021 to 2025 · largest: Subventions forfaitaires dans le fondamental
EU budget €28.0m attributed share 17 recipients · 2021 to 2025 · largest: Innovation Fund
EU research €17.7m eu contribution 31 recipients · 2009 to 2026 · largest: Horizon Europe

Explore every recipient in this sector

How these figures are counted

Current enterprise registrations are counted through their registered main activities; establishment units are excluded. Counted in the KBO's NACE 2025 nomenclature, the one in which code 38 exists.

Share of currently registered companies with a published bankruptcy opening in the past five years. Registered main activities in the selected classification can overlap. This retrospective share is not a future bankruptcy probability.

The comparison with the country and with the other NACE divisions comes from a nightly overview of every division, each counted in the nomenclature in which it exists. A standing such as "higher than 80%" counts the other divisions that have the figure. The bankruptcy probability is the median of our nightly score over the division's companies that have one; the count is stated.

The middle company of the sector, based on all filed annual accounts.