The Netherlands is the recycling champion. But we can separate plastic until we weigh an ounce, the recycling companies have nowhere to go with it and send some of the separated plastic back to the incinerator. “New plastic is simply cheaper than recycled”
All alarm bells went off in the recycling world when, last January, the Rotterdam plastic recycling company Umincorp first had to request a deferral of payment and shortly later closed its doors for good. The company, once one of the most promising start-ups, processed plastic from household waste in the four major cities. The company of founders Jelle Sernee and Jaap Vandehoek had never made a profit until then. The company itself stated that it is unable to compete with much cheaper new fossil plastics.
To stimulate the energy transition, the Netherlands has fully committed to the circular economy. Not without success, according to figures from the European statistical agency Eurostat. The Netherlands is a leader in recycling. In the European Union, 11.7 percent of the materials used are recycled. In the Netherlands that percentage is 33.8 percent.
The percentages are even higher specifically for plastic. In 2021, the average recycling rate for plastics in the EU was 39.7 percent. In the Netherlands (48.9 percent), almost half of the plastic is recycled. Only Belgium (49.2 percent) and Slovenia (50%) are doing better than the Netherlands, according to Eurostat.
Significant market
With an annual turnover of €13 billion, according to trade organization NRK, the Dutch plastics and plastics industry is a significant market, but that could change quickly. Entrepreneurs in the recycling industry argue that there is hardly a revenue model, while this is one of the hobbyhorses of the energy transition according to government policy.
“The bankruptcy of Umincorp has had a major impact on the sector,” agrees General Manager Harold de Graaf of trade organization NRK Recycling. “The Netherlands processes 2 to 2.5 million tons of plastic and plastic annually, of which approximately one million tons is for the Dutch market, the rest is for export. There is just very little demand for it at the moment.”
Veolia Polymers is one of the companies sounding the alarm and states that it cannot compete with new plastic, mainly from China and the United States. “We collect it, clean the plastic, recycle it into a granule and then a new granule is cheaper on the market,” says Gerrit Klein Nagelvoort, business development manager at Veolia Polymers.
Surplus
NRK director De Graaf emphasizes that the entire plastic market is bad, including new plastic, because of the faltering economy. “There is a surplus. China and the United States can then use their dirt-cheap energy to bring new plastic onto the market here at very low prices. We see companies struggling with their green ambitions and with the current inflation they often opt for the low cost price and therefore the cheapest plastic. A little government support might not be out of place here.”
The National Circular Plastic Standard (NCPN) could possibly provide that extra boost. From 2027, 15 percent of plastic products must consist of recyclate, increasing to 25 to 30 percent in 2030.
“The problem is that this is a Dutch rule without an import standard,” says De Graaf. “So there is no obstacle for brand owners to source products from, for example, Germany or another country at a lower cost price. After all, that obligation does not apply there. Without a level playing field in Europe, our industry and the environment lose. It is best to keep in line with Europe, because rules are also made there. We have a huge innovative recycling industry that is truly leading.”
In any case, the current situation cannot be sustained for long. Klein Nagelvoort: “It can happen that you do your best to separate waste and I have to send it to the incinerator.”