Employees of waste processor Attero in Moerdijk block the gates on Wednesday. They encountered taxes that politics imposes the companies or (possibly) planning to impose them. That is how their employment is in danger, the strikers think. Companies would prefer to move to countries due to the taxes where no or much lower levies apply.
Stakes throughout the country on Wednesday. “Currently, almost forty euros per tonne of waste has to be paid,” says Attero spokesperson Robert Corijn. “In the near future, a CO2 tax will be added. And the government is considering laiding a tax on plastic at the recycling companies. You will reach a total of 157 euros per tonne of waste”
According to Corijn, that would mean the death blow for the sector in the Netherlands. “We are afraid that companies choose to move to countries. That would endanger our employment. While the government should stimulate the recycling sector. In Belgium, for example, the levy is drastically lower.”
From 2028, the government wants to raise 547 million euros annually with a taxation on plastic. According to the FNV trade union, the promotion on Wednesday is a ‘first warning’. The actions are held in various places where recycling and waste processing installations are, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Moerdijk, Delfzijl and Duiven.