Plastic Pact helps recycling, but will not solve plastic soup

The Plastic Pact will help make the recycling of plastics in the Netherlands more efficient. However, it will not solve the issue of litter and plastic soup, environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk responded on Thursday to the agreement between State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) and mainly companies that produce or use plastic.

All initiatives to curb the plastic problem are welcome. But the agreements in the pact only make the out-of-control plastic production a little less polluting. The necessary fundamental system change to deal with plastics differently is lacking, analyses director Rob Buurman of Recycling Netwerk.

Our four remarks on the Plastic Pact:

The commitment on reduction or reuse of plastics could be stronger

The target to use 20% less volume of plastic is a trend break and will likely lead to fewer kg of plastic among the signatories of the pact. However, it does not guarantee that fewer plastic products will enter the market, as the target can also be achieved through 'lightweighting'. The target is also relative to the number of kilograms of product put on the market.

The commitment to individually use 35% recycled plastic in new packaging sounds ambitious, but it is unclear how much recycled plastic is already being used, so the gain is unclear.

The target to recycle at least 70% of single-use plastic in a high-quality manner is quite ambitious, but should be enshrined in legislation.

The plastic-using companies commit to only placing 100% recyclable plastic on the market. But the pact does not define what exactly is meant by this.

All four of the aforementioned targets only apply by 2025. Put your money where your mouth is: make agreements that deliver immediate results and can still be assessed within the term of this government.

The pact barely helps to combat pollution caused by plastic litter and plastic soup

The pact encourages the use of biobased plastics, but these are just as harmful to the environment as fossil plastics, and are no solution to the plastic soup.

The pact does not speak of a deposit system on plastic bottles or other products

The introduction of a deposit system on small plastic bottles is inevitable. But companies still remain silent about it, or lobby against it, such as signatory Albert Heijn.

The Plastic Pact explicitly does not place legal responsibility on the companies

It is a voluntary commitment. Because these promises are not in a legal text, they are not enforceable by the government if they are not kept.

It is not the intention that necessary regulation is replaced by non-binding agreements. Recycling Netwerk therefore advocates for:

The legally anchored responsibility of producers for the collection, recycling, and pollution caused by their plastic products (litter from packaging, microplastics from car tyres, production of plastic pellets or microplastics from textiles);

The immediate introduction of a deposit system on small plastic bottles;

A legally anchored absolute reduction target in numbers of single-use plastic products, along with the promotion of reusable products, in line with the government's goal to use half as many raw materials by 2030;

The scale and urgency of plastic pollution is such that we no longer have the luxury of waiting six years to see what these voluntary agreements in the Plastic Pact yield. Recycling Netwerk therefore requests that the government and parliament vote for enforceable laws and decisions to truly stop the ever-growing plastic avalanche. Voluntary agreements in 2019 are too little, too late.

Related articles: AfvalOnline, Plastic Pact: 20 per cent reduction, 100 per cent recyclable, 21 February 2019

NPO Radio 1 interview with Rob Buurman about the Plastic Pact (21 February 2019)

Rob Buurman, director Recycling Netwerk Benelux rob@fairresourcefoundation.org +31 616 40 10 40

Press contact: Tom Zoete, communications Recycling Netwerk Benelux rob@fairresourcefoundation.org +31 616 10 10 50

Recycling Netwerk is a member of the international Break Free From Plastics movement.

The Plastic Pact will help make the recycling of plastics in the Netherlands more efficient. But it will not solve the issue of litter and plastic soup, environmental organisation Recycling Netwerk responded on Thursday to the agreement between State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) and mainly companies that produce or use plastic.

All initiatives to curb the plastic problem are welcome. But the agreements in the pact only make the out-of-control plastic production a little less polluting. The necessary fundamental system change to deal with plastics differently is lacking, analyses director Rob Buurman of Recycling Netwerk.

Our four remarks on the Plastic Pact:

The commitment on reduction or reuse of plastics could be stronger

The target to use 20% less volume of plastic is a trend break and will likely lead to fewer kg of plastic among the signatories of the pact. However, it does not guarantee that fewer plastic products will enter the market, as the target can also be achieved through 'lightweighting'. The target is also relative to the number of kilograms of product put on the market.

The commitment to individually use 35% recycled plastic in new packaging sounds ambitious, but it is unclear how much recycled plastic is already being used, so the gain is unclear.

The target to recycle at least 70% of single-use plastic in a high-quality manner is quite ambitious, but should be enshrined in legislation.

The plastic-using companies commit to only placing 100% recyclable plastic on the market. But the pact does not define what exactly is meant by this.

All four of the aforementioned targets only apply by 2025. Put your money where your mouth is: make agreements that deliver immediate results and can still be assessed within the term of this government.

The pact barely helps to combat pollution caused by plastic litter and plastic soup

The pact encourages the use of biobased plastics, but these are just as harmful to the environment as fossil plastics, and are no solution to the plastic soup.

The pact does not speak of a deposit system on plastic bottles or other products

The introduction of a deposit system on small plastic bottles is inevitable. But companies still remain silent about it, or lobby against it, such as signatory Albert Heijn.

The Plastic Pact explicitly does not place legal responsibility on the companies

It is a voluntary commitment. Because these promises are not in a legal text, they are not enforceable by the government if they are not kept.

It is not the intention that necessary regulation is replaced by non-binding agreements. Recycling Netwerk therefore advocates for:

The legally anchored responsibility of producers for the collection, recycling, and pollution caused by their plastic products (litter from packaging, microplastics from car tyres, production of plastic pellets or microplastics from textiles);

The immediate introduction of a deposit system on small plastic bottles;

A legally anchored absolute reduction target in numbers of single-use plastic products, along with the promotion of reusable products, in line with the government's goal to use half as many raw materials by 2030;

The scale and urgency of plastic pollution is such that we no longer have the luxury of waiting six years to see what these voluntary agreements in the Plastic Pact yield. Recycling Netwerk therefore requests that the government and parliament vote for enforceable laws and decisions to truly stop the ever-growing plastic avalanche. Voluntary agreements in 2019 are too little, too late.

Related articles: AfvalOnline, Plastic Pact: 20 per cent reduction, 100 per cent recyclable, 21 February 2019

NPO Radio 1 interview with Rob Buurman about the Plastic Pact (21 February 2019)

Rob Buurman, director Recycling Netwerk Benelux rob@fairresourcefoundation.org +31 616 40 10 40

Press contact: Tom Zoete, communications Recycling Netwerk Benelux rob@fairresourcefoundation.org +31 616 10 10 50

Recycling Netwerk is a member of the international Break Free From Plastics movement.