Wallonia makes paper receipt in shops optional

In shops in Wallonia, a paper receipt will no longer be the standard, the office of Walloon Environment minister Céline Tellier confirmed on Wednesday. Customers can still get the receipt, however, if they ask for it. Shops are required to allow customers to receive the ticket via e-mail or SMS.

Paper receipts will thus no longer be automatically printed from Thursday onwards. There are exceptions, according to legal provisions laid down at the federal level. The receipt must still be printed in hotels, restaurants, the catering sector, car washes or for products with a legal guarantee period.

The Walloon government also scheduled a transition period to allow businesses to comply. Minister Tellier's office specifies that the end of the transition period is still under discussion with the industry.

5 billion receipts per year

About five billion receipts are printed in Belgium every year. Tellier's office justifies the end of automatic printing of receipts because of "hygienic and environmental reasons".

In the Brussels region, no such measure has been discussed so far. Discussions on a similar measure in Flanders are ongoing within the regional government, according to the Public Waste Agency of Flanders.

^{© ​ JOEL SAGET / AFP}