PBL: enforcing circular goals more vigorously

The objectives were ambitious in 2016, but seven years later little has come of the circular economy. That was the hard conclusion that the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) drew on Thursday in the Integrated Circular Economy Report that it publishes every two years at the request of the government. At this rate, the ambitious circular targets set by the government – ​​in consultation with companies, knowledge institutes and environmental organizations – are far from being achieved.

1 What exactly do the circular goals entail?

The Netherlands must have a circular economy by 2050 – that was the political ambition expressed in 2016 by the Rutte III cabinet. That objective has not become very concrete, but the core objective of a circular economy is the eradication of waste streams: everything is reused.

As an interim step, the government has committed itself in the ‘Government-wide Circular Economy Program’ to using only half of the abiotic — non-living — raw materials by 2030. These are minerals, metals and fossil raw materials such as natural gas and oil. This is done by reducing consumption, extending the lifespan of products and replacing finite raw materials with sustainably produced raw materials such as bio-based raw materials.

2 What is the current state of the circular Netherlands?

In 2020, Dutch companies processed, traded and consumed 359 billion kilos of raw materials, according to the PBL. Three-quarters of this had to be imported. Between 2018 and 2020, the use of raw materials fell by 7 percent. Not bad at first glance, but according to the PBL this is an incidental decrease that is mainly due to a short-term reduction in the use of fossil fuels. This is in turn because the Dutch flew less and drove less during corona lockdowns. The PBL expects raw material use to rise again to the old level after 2020.

With a view to 2030, things are therefore not going well and it seems that halving raw materials in 2030 was nothing more than a paper target. If you zoom out, you will see that the Netherlands is not doing badly compared to other countries. Especially as a recycling country, the Netherlands belongs to the European top. 78 percent of the waste processed in the Netherlands is recycled and relatively little waste is landfilled.

The problem is that there is little mention of ‘high-quality recycling’. Material flows are hardly separated properly, so that plastic, for example, mixes with other substances. The result of that process is a low-value application, such as verge posts. “But we have had enough of that now,” says PBL researcher Aldert Hanemaaijer. “When recycling you have to strive for an equivalent application.”

3 How can the goals still be achieved?

Both the PBL and Arnold Tukker, professor of Industrial Ecology at Leiden University, point to the government. “Without policy, not much will come of the circular objective,” says Tukker. Hanemaaijer: “Recycling has been handled relatively well, now we have to ensure that products are used up much less quickly.”

Examples of ‘coercion and coercion’ that the PBL is aiming for are mandatory instruments that the government has so far left in its toolbox. The PBL would prefer, for example, that producers be obliged to include a minimum percentage of secondary (recycled) material in new products. Hanemaaijer: “You can then say: in 2030 we want at least 10 percent of a new building to come from an old building, and let that percentage increase over time.”

The PBL also wants an input levy on the use of fossil raw materials, such as crude oil and ethylene, for plastics. This would encourage companies to look for circular products. After all, primary raw materials are now often even cheaper than recycled materials.

An important part of the solution also lies in product design. The ecological footprint that products leave behind, says Tukker, is 80 percent determined during the design. For recycling, it differs quite a bit whether a plastic bottle consists of eighteen different types of plastic or of two. A piece of electronics is easier to repair if the parts are connected with a click connection instead of glue. Hanemaaijer: “The government can also enforce that. You have set very ambitious goals, which you will not achieve without serious pricing and standards.”