Circular Economics - Recycling: Netherlands in EU top three for recycling, says circular economy report

The Netherlands is in
Europe’s top three for recycling, according to the latest figures
published by the Dutch statistics office.

A report on the ‘circular economy in the Netherlands’ – looking at the
extent to which the country uses raw materials and recycles what it uses
– shows that it is apparently improving.

In 2018 the country consumed around 20% less in materials than in 2000 –
including goods that are used in production. On average, each resident
used 10,000 kilos of materials in 2018 – however another 21,500 kilos
per head were produced, intended for export.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

Upcycle Center Almere

The Netherlands is in Europe’s top three for recycling, according to the latest figures published by the Dutch statistics office.

A report on the ‘circular economy in the Netherlands’ – looking at the extent to which the country uses raw materials and recycles what it uses – shows that it is apparently improving.

In 2018 the country consumed around 20% less in materials than in 2000 – including goods that are used in production. On average, each resident used 10,000 kilos of materials in 2018 – however another 21,500 kilos per head were produced, intended for export.

One example of the many cities in the Netherlands focusing on improving their recycling efforts is the modern city of Almere (population +/-200.000) in the new Dutch province of Flevoland, reclaimed from the Zuiderzee (South Sea), which in 1986 officially became the 12th Dutch Province. 

The city of Almere’s ambition is to become a city without waste. The city’s goal is that this year each citizen will only produce 50kg of household waste.

At the moment, around 75% of the household waste collected doesn’t belong in it, such as paper, plastic, glass or organic waste. By separating these raw materials, they can be reused, meaning fewer raw materials are needed to create new products.

The municipality is responsible for waste collection in the city,utilizing waste bins and (underground) containers. There are three recycling stations (recycling perrons) where you can discard your waste for free. And there is a free collection service for bulky waste that may otherwise be difficult to transport.

In addition, the municipality cleans up litter in the city and takes care of illegal dumping.

Almere-Digest

USA recycling: Why is the US so bad at recycling

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Read more at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48127398

Recycling and Waste Management: EU recycling industry could create an additional 160,000 jobs by 2020

Recycling could create at least an additional 160.000 jobs in a circular economy say executives at WRAP a British advisory company which works with a wide range of partners, from major UK businesses, trade bodies and local authorities through to individuals looking for practical advice on recyclin.  They are funded by all four governments across the UK and the EU and run programs in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.

As a practical example of a circular economy - Norway, along with many other northern European countries, has built a network of cogeneration plants that produce heat and electricity from recycled waste.  Referred to as waste-to-energy facilities, the process is relatively simple.  Garbage is burned in a portion of the facility, creating steam, ash and flue gases.  The facility collects the steam and uses it to turn turbines, which generates the electricity used throughout much of the country.  The ash is trucked away to a landfill, while the remaining gases are either filtered and dispersed into the atmosphere, or collected and used for additional products like biofuel.

With a growing recycling infrastructure diverting more European waste from landfills, as well as systems R&D investments from integrated waste handling firms the EU could eventually be turning their waste into gold and jobs.

EU-Digest