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economic opportunities.
This short history shows that the Netherlands has worked on
several aspects of the circular economy for four decades now.
Waste policies introduced since the 1980s have caused a clear shift
from landfilling to incineration and have gradually made recycling
common in the Netherlands. At present, the country recycles 78%
of its waste, incinerates 19% and landfills only 3%. In addition,
environmental product policies introduced in the early 1990s have
gained growing attention since then.
Milestones in Dutch waste policies 1927 - 2014
1979
Early 1980s
Mid-1980s
1989-
early 1990s
Early 2000s
2008
2014
Introduction of the waste hierarchy ‘reduce, reuse, recycling,
energy recovery, incineration and landfill’
Shift from landfilling to incineration
Establishment of recycling programme for 30 resource streams
Introduction of integrated chain management and environmental
product policy
First National Waste Management Plan is issued
Introduction of chain-oriented materials policy and Cradle-to-
Cradle approach
The Waste to Resource programme viewed from a circular
economy perspective
During this time, industries and research institutes have gained
knowledge and experience that can now be applied to circular
economy activities. And the government has learned how to
encourage more prudent use of natural resources within industries
and promote more sustainable consumption patterns. This means
that the Netherlands has a fertile ground on which to take its next
step: bundling existing knowledge and developing new expertise
to put the circular economy into practice.