Dutch scrap industry highlighted in ‘Recycling in Holland’ special

The Netherlands – In October, the BIR world recycling organisation will hold one of its major convention in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. To coincide with this event, Recycling International plans to publish a special feature about this small country that is big in recycling.

Over the coming months, our editorial team will visit major scrap processing and trading companies as well as machinery suppliers. Also, they will interview industry leaders and highlight, among other topics, the major role of the Port of Rotterdam.

Here are some noteworthy facts about the Dutch recycling market:

• Since 2000, recycling has seen a more or less constant growth while incineration has been stagnant since 2010.

• The Netherlands landfills roughly 80kg per capita annually (compared to 425 kg in the UK).

• Dutch take-back scheme Wecycle succeeded in collecting more than 110 000 tonnes of post-consumer electrical and electronic devices last year, the Dutch e-scrap take-back scheme has reported. The figure also includes light bulbs.

• E-scrap collection in 2015 totalled 6.5 kg worth of e-scrap per inhabitant, which easily shattered the 4kg objective.

• The volume of e-scrap that is not collected through official channels is estimated to cost the Dutch economy EUR 73 million per year.

• Since 2013, furthermore, robots have replaced human waste pickers at Baetsen Recycling in Veldhoven.

The ‘Recycling in Holland’ special will form part of Recycling International’s October issue.

For more information, contact chief editor Martijn Reintjes: [email protected] 

For information about advertising, contact Judith Wanjala: [email protected]

Or call the RI office at: +31 26 3120994.