The Hague is perfectly capable of ending the throwaway culture itself

This opinion appeared on Joop on 10 May. On 31 March, the Dutch government asked European Commissioner Frans Timmermans to propose robust measures to reduce the volume of packaging and packaging waste. Dutch State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen, along with her colleagues from Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, and Austria, signed a letter that begins: ‘The circular economy is of vital importance for a sustainable future and essential to combat climate change. An ambitious implementation of the circular economy action plan is therefore of great importance. Both the European Commission and the member states have a responsibility to achieve this.’ Escape clauses But when we study the Dutch legislation meant to facilitate the transition from single-use to reuse, it is the escape clauses in the Ministerial Regulation on Single-Use Plastic Products that stand out most. Festivals, stadiums, theme parks, restaurants, and offices must use reusable cups unless they ‘collect and offer single-use cups for high-quality recycling’. For meals and drinks prepared on-site, a reusable alternative must be available for take-away. But here again is an escape clause: this can also be a cup or packaging brought by the customer. With this, the Dutch government once again shifts the responsibility to the customer, and we make no progress towards systemic change. What you are not prepared to do yourself, Europe will not solve for you Reusable alternatives to single-use are much better for the environment than disposables. This is especially true for consumption in public spaces where the risk of littering is high. Other countries are setting a good example at the national level. Last week, Luxembourg published legislation for reuse measures in which single-use packaging is phased out. In November, Austria established a binding and enforceable target of 25% reusable beverage packaging by 2025. Sweden introduced a 50% reduction target for cups and food containers by 2026. What we need in the Netherlands are solutions that are genuinely reusable and can compete with single-use in terms of convenience. For a coffee cup, that means a reusable cup you receive from the kiosk, which you can then easily return via the reverse vending machines for bottles and cans, so they can be industrially washed and reused hundreds of times. But the many loopholes in Dutch legislation keep the disposable culture alive. They are inconsistent with the recommendations the Netherlands makes to Europe. Dear government in The Hague: what you are not prepared to do yourself, Europe is not going to solve for you. Next Wednesday, the House of Representatives is up to show more teeth during the discussion of the proposals. Mission Reuse is a joint transition programme of the organisations Recycling Netwerk Benelux, Natuur & Milieu, and Enviu.

This opinion already appeared on 10 May on Joop

On 31 March, the Dutch government asked European Commissioner Frans Timmermans to propose robust measures to reduce the volume of packaging and packaging waste. Dutch State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen, along with her colleagues from Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, and Austria, signed a letter that begins: ‘The circular economy is of vital importance for a sustainable future and essential to combat climate change. An ambitious implementation of the circular economy action plan is therefore of great importance. Both the European Commission and the member states have a responsibility to achieve this.’

Escape clauses

But when we study the Dutch legislation meant to facilitate the transition from single-use to reuse, it is the escape clauses in the Ministerial Regulation on Single-Use Plastic Products that stand out most. Festivals, stadiums, theme parks, restaurants, and offices must use reusable cups unless they ‘collect and offer single-use cups for high-quality recycling’.

For meals and drinks prepared on-site, a reusable alternative must be available for take-away. But here again is an escape clause: this can also be a cup or packaging brought by the customer.

With this, the Dutch government once again shifts the responsibility to the customer, and we make no progress towards systemic change.

What you are not prepared to do yourself, Europe will not solve for you

Reusable alternatives to single-use are much better for the environment than disposables. This is especially true for consumption in public spaces where the risk of littering is high.

Other countries are setting a good example at the national level. Luxembourg last week published legislation for reuse measures in which single-use packaging is phased out. Austria in November established a binding and enforceable target of 25% reusable beverage packaging by 2025. Sweden introduced a 50% reduction target for cups and food containers by 2026.

What we need in the Netherlands are solutions that are genuinely reusable and can compete with single-use in terms of convenience. For a coffee cup, that means a reusable cup you receive from the kiosk, which you can then easily return via the reverse vending machines for bottles and cans, so they can be industrially washed and reused hundreds of times.

But the many loopholes in Dutch legislation keep the disposable culture alive. They are inconsistent with the recommendations the Netherlands makes to Europe. Dear government in The Hague: what you are not prepared to do yourself, Europe is not going to solve for you. Next Wednesday, the House of Representatives is up to show more teeth during the discussion of the proposals.

Mission Reuse is a joint transition programme of the organisations Recycling Netwerk Benelux, Natuur & Milieu, and Enviu.