What Vlaco vzw does

Vlaco vzw is a Flemish non-profit association (vereniging zonder winstoogmerk), founded in 1995 and headquartered in Mechelen, Belgium, that operates as the recognized independent certification and knowledge center for biological waste processing in Flanders. It certifies compost (gft-compost and groencompost) and digestate products for 87–88 member processing companies and intercommunal partners under the ECN-QAS European quality scheme, with formal certification-body status since 2014. Underlying technology centres on aerobic composting and anaerobic digestion of source-separated kitchen, garden, and green waste plus manure, with Vlaco's role spanning quality attestation, sampling, auditing, and market intelligence rather than physical processing itself.

Vlaco monetizes through certification and audit fees paid by member processing companies, the sale of branded publications (the Restjeskookboek cookbook series at EUR 19.99), workshops delivered via 50+ trained volunteer lecturers and intercommunal partners, and a small webshop. Go-to-market combines direct B2C engagement (seasonal compost promotion campaigns at Flemish recycling parks, citizen-facing digital tools such as the Plan-eet food-waste app, and educational workshops) with B2B advisory services to farmers, green services firms, and potting soil manufacturers, alongside pan-European research partnerships (C-Martlife, Interreg Soilcom and CORE, Vlaanderen Circulair UNIR). Customers include Flemish agriculture (~586,000 tons of digestate in 2025), green services and garden contractors (~130,000 tons), potting soil manufacturers (~90,000 tons), foreign agriculture in France and the Netherlands (~456,000 tons of exports), and individual Flemish citizens — 41% of whom practise home composting, a notably high regional penetration.

Name

Vlaco vzw

Legal name

Vlaco vzw

Website

https://vlaco.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vlaco vzw is a Flemish non-profit association that certifies compost and digestate products for 87–88 member processors and promotes biological circular economy via training, public campaigns, and EU research partnerships across Flanders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Waste Recycling Certification

NAICS

Compost Manufacturing (325315), Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Digestate & Compost Product Processing, Marketing & Distribution (Soil Amendments, Mulch) (EUAIAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digestate & Compost Quality Testing/Certification (Lab, QA/QC) (BPALAEAK), Compost Product Distribution, Retail & Landscape Supply (Bulk/Bagged) (BPALAEAI), Organics Contamination Monitoring & Compliance (QA/QC, Auditing, Reporting) (EUAIAEAI), Circular Economy & Waste/Materials Reporting (Zero waste, packaging) (EUAHAJAL)

Keywords

• Organic waste certification
• Compost quality assurance
• Digestate certification services
• Home composting education
• Biological circular economy

Headquarters

HQ city

Mechelen

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Compost and Digestaat Certification and Sales: Vlaco certifies compost and digestaat products from member processing companies. Revenue is generated through the sale of certified organic products (compost, digestaat) produced by member companies. Products are sold in bulk and bags through recycling parks, intercommunales, and direct sales. Average compost price in 2025 was approximately 7.4 EUR per ton, showing a rising price trend over recent years.
2. Publications and Merchandise Sales: Vlaco publishes cookbooks (Het Restjeskookboek) and educational materials for sale. The 2nd Restjeskookboek was priced at 19.99 EUR per copy and sold in bookstores and online via the Vlaco webshop. Additional merchandise includes educational brochures and publications.
3. Training and Education Services: Vlaco trains volunteer 'kringloopkrachten' and lecturers who deliver workshops and info sessions on home composting, food waste reduction, and circular gardening. Lesaanvraag (training requests) are submitted via a dedicated portal. Sessions are delivered in partnership with municipalities and intercommunales.
4. Quality Monitoring and Certification Services: Vlaco operates as an accredited certification body (since 2014) performing audits, sampling, and issuing quality attestations for compost and digestaat processing companies. This includes external audits, quality monitoring, and conformity assessments under ECN-QAS. Revenue is generated through certification fees charged to member companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Vlaco vzw is a Flemish non-profit association that certifies compost and digestate products from member processing companies under the ECN-QAS framework, issues quality attestations required by Flemish fertilizer law, and delivers educational programs on home composting and food waste reduction. It distributes digital tools (Plan-eet app, CO2 tool, compost calculator, Thuiscomposteerwijzer), sells publications and merchandise, and operates a research program of demonstration trials. Certified end products include gft-compost, groencompost, digestaat (multiple fractions), and Vlaco-potgrond potting soil.

Product overview

Vlaco vzw is a Flemish organization for organic waste recycling operating as a certification body and knowledge center for biological circular economy. The organization manages a portfolio of core products including gft-compost (food and garden waste compost), groencompost (green compost), and digestaat (digestate from biogas production). Related products include Vlaco-potgrond (potting soil with green compost as peat replacement) and Vlaco-fertil (pelletized dried digestate, in development). Digital offerings include the Plan-eet app for food waste prevention, CO₂-tool for calculating environmental savings, Compostcalculator, and the Thuiscomposteerwijzer (home composting guide). Publications include the Restjeskookboek recipe books for food waste reduction. Seasonal Compostactie campaigns promote compost sales at recycling parks. Quality control and certification services support member companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vlaco-potgrond: Universal potting soil containing green compost with beneficial microorganisms, designed as an ecological alternative containing 50% less peat.
• Vlaco-fertil

Products and services

• Gft-compost (food and garden waste compost) Quality-certified compost produced from separately collected fruit, vegetable, and garden waste (gft). Suitable for agriculture, horticulture, and home gardening applications.
• Groencompost (green compost) Compost made from green garden waste including grass clippings, leaves, and prunings. Used in landscaping, agriculture, and as input for potting soil production.
• Digestaat (digestate) Digestate products from anaerobic digestion of organic waste and manure. Available as raw digestate, thick fraction, thin fraction, concentrate, effluent, and dried digestate. Used as organic fertilizer and soil improver.
• Vlaco-potgrond (Vlaco potting soil) Universal potting soil containing green compost with beneficial microorganisms, designed as an ecological alternative containing 50% less peat.
• Plan-eet app Mobile application helping households track and reduce food waste through logging, challenges, tips, recipes, and preservation techniques. Available for Android and iOS with over 700 registered users by January 2023.
• CO2-tool Online tool for calculating CO2 savings from compost and digestate use. Helps users quantify environmental benefits of organic waste recycling.
• Compostcalculator Online calculator tool to help users determine how much compost they need for their specific applications.
• Thuiscomposteerwijzer (Home Composting Guide) Online guide and reference tool helping citizens determine what can be composted at home. Quick lookup tool for home composting questions.
• Het 2de Restjeskookboek (Second Leftover Cookbook) Second cookbook featuring more than 60 recipes using drink leftovers. Organized into 7 product groups including coffee/tea, milk, juices, soft drinks, beer, wine, and spirits.
• Restjeskookboek recipe series Recipe books containing tips and recipes for using food leftovers to reduce food waste. Series includes both editions of the cookbook.
• Compostactie (Compost Sales Campaigns) Seasonal promotional campaigns at recycling parks offering Vlaco compost in bulk and bags, often with promotional incentives like gardening gloves during campaign periods.
• Quality Control and Certification Services Independent quality monitoring and certification services for organic waste processing companies. Includes sampling, audits, and issuance of quality certificates (keuringsattest) required under Flemish regulations.
• Workshops and Training Sessions Workshops and info sessions on home composting, food waste reduction, circular gardening, chicken keeping, and pruning delivered by 50+ trained Vlaco lecturers in partnership with municipalities and intercommunales.

Quantifiable outcome

• Compost sales in Flanders reached ~510,000 tons in 2025, a 10.7% increase from 2024
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Flemish intercommunales (Limburg.net, IVAREM, IOK Afvalbeheer, EcoWerf, Imog, Verko, and others)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Flemish waste intercommunales are key distribution and collection partners. They operate recycling parks where Vlaco-certified compost is sold to citizens, participate in seasonal compost promotion campaigns, and communicate Vlaco's messages through their channels. Over 80% of intercommunales used Vlaco's communication package for the Plan-eet app promotion.
• PlattelandsTVminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2022PlattelandsTV produced 7 short videos with tips for households to reduce food waste, in collaboration with Vlaco. Videos aired from October 2022 and are available in the Plan-eet app. This partnership extends Vlaco's reach into video-based content marketing.
• Intercommunale IgeanminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2022Igean promoted the Plan-eet food waste reduction app on Radio 2 during the International Day Against Food Loss and Food Waste (September 29). This local partnership extended app awareness through regional radio coverage.
• OVAM (Openbare Vlaamse Afvalstoffenmaatschappij)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020OVAM is the Flemish public waste management agency and a founding/governing member of Vlaco. OVAM provides regulatory oversight and policy direction for organic waste management in Flanders. Vlaco works with OVAM on quality certification, policy development, and public awareness campaigns related to biological waste processing.
• C-Martlife Project Consortium (OVAM, Denuo, FostPlus, Valipac, VVSG, Westtoer)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020C-Martlife is a LIFE-Integrated Project (2020-2027) supported by EU LIFE funding. Vlaco plays a central role in 6 sub-projects within this initiative aimed at reducing residual household waste. Partners include OVAM, Denuo, FostPlus, Valipac, VVSG, and Westtoer. The project focuses on optimizing selective collection and digestion of packaged food waste.
• European Compost Network (ECN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2019ECN is the European umbrella organization for compost quality organizations. Vlaco participates in the ECN Quality Assurance Scheme (ECN QAS), contributing to harmonized European quality standards for compost. ECN supports national quality organizations including Vlaco (Belgium), BGK (Germany), CIC (Italy), and KBVOE (Austria). Vlaco undergoes external audits from ECN to maintain its ECN-QAS Conformity label.
• Interreg Soilcom ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Soilcom is an Interreg North Sea Region project in which Vlaco collaborates with European partners to develop compost tailored for horticulture and ornamental plant cultivation. Vlaco produced an overview of hygienisation requirements for composting across different countries. The project supports ECN (European Compost Network) quality standards harmonization.
• UGent (Universiteit Gent), PCG, ILVO, Provincie Oost-VlaanderenmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Research consortium partners for long-term field trials on the impact of digestate and compost on soil quality and crop yields. Conducted multi-year trials (since 2010) at UGent experimental fields in Melle and ILVO composting facilities. Results demonstrate that digestate and compost perform comparably to animal manure and mineral fertilizers in terms of crop yield and quality, while improving soil organic matter.
• UNIR Project Partners (Biogas Bree, VCM, Boerenbond, BDB, loonwerker Broekx, Agropolis)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018UNIR was a Vlaanderen Circulair project (2018-2020) aimed at making ammonium sulfate (spuiwater from chemical air scrubbers) better known and more widely used by Flemish farmers as a nitrogen fertilizer replacement. Partners included Biogas Bree (producer), VCM, Boerenbond (farmers' union), Bodemkundige Dienst van België (BDB, soil service), loonwerker Broekx (contractor), and Agropolis. Vlaco co-coordinated the project.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• SUEZ Environnement: Large multinational environmental services group with composting and soil amendment operations across Europe. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities (organic waste collection and processing into compost/digestate), but operates across many waste streams rather than specializing in Vlaco's certification-and-promotion niche.
• Renewi: Benelux-focused waste management company with organic waste recycling and composting activities. Comparable as a regional operator handling gft streams and producing compost outputs that flow into the same Flemish/Dutch fertilizer market Vlaco certifies.
• Veolia Environnement: Global environmental services operator with significant organic waste processing and soil-product manufacturing. Overlaps with Vlaco in producing compost and digestate from municipal bio-waste, but as part of a much broader utilities and waste portfolio.

Direct peers

• OWS (Organic Waste Systems): Belgian consultancy and engineering firm specializing in anaerobic digestion and organic waste treatment. Comparable to Vlaco in focusing on biological treatment of organic waste streams, with overlap on digestate processing know-how that Vlaco helps certify.
• Attero: Largest Dutch composting and organic waste processing operator, processing gft and green waste into certified compost used in Dutch agriculture. Directly comparable in core activity (industrial-scale composting and digestate production) and serves the same cross-border Benelux market that Vlaco exports into.
• KBVÖ (Kompost & Biogas Verband Österreich): Austrian quality organization for compost and biogas/digestate, fellow ECN-QAS member. Closely comparable to Vlaco in mission: certifying compost and digestate quality, supporting member processors, and running education/outreach in its home market.
• CIC - Consorzio Italiano Compostatori: Italian consortium that certifies and promotes compost quality, also operating under the ECN-QAS framework like Vlaco. Provides a directly comparable model of national compost quality assurance with similar functions in member certification, training, and market development.
• BGK (Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost): German national quality assurance organization for compost and digestate, and a fellow ECN-QAS member organization alongside Vlaco. Both bodies certify organic recycling outputs against harmonized European quality standards in their respective national markets.

Others

• Curtis & Carter (or similar accredited soil/organic amendment testing labs serving European composters): Accredited independent testing laboratories (e.g., Eurofins, SGS) that perform the underlying compost and digestate quality analyses required by ECN-QAS certified bodies like Vlaco. They are ecosystem participants whose testing underpins Vlaco's certification outputs rather than direct competitors.

Regional players

• BVOR (Bureau de Coordination du Compostage et de la Digestion) - via Réseau Compost Citoyen / ADEME ecosystem: French peer organization promoting and coordinating compost and anaerobic digestion quality/practice in France. Comparable to Vlaco in fostering a national ecosystem for certified organic recycling, but operating in France, a key export market for Vlaco-certified digestate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vlaco_be
• Facebookfacebook.com/vlacokringloop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vlaco-vzw
• Instagraminstagram.com/vlacovzw

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vlaco vzw