The cabinet has definitively approved the first phase of Circular Plastics NL and is investing EUR 124 million from the National Growth Fund. With the implementation of Circular Plastics NL, the government, companies and knowledge institutions are making an effort to achieve the circularity goals of recycling 50% of all plastics by 2030. They also strive for less plastics to go to waste incineration. With Circular PlasticsNL, the parties combat climate change, reduce the use of fossil raw materials and reduce environmental pollution. This will strengthen the sustainable earning capacity of the Netherlands.
Investment is doubled
The investment of 124 million euros is for the programs that start in 2023 and 2024. A total of 220 million euros has been reserved by the cabinet for the entire eight-year programme. This amount is doubled by industry and other stakeholders in the circular plastics chain.
Consortium
Circular Plastics NL is an initiative of the MaterialenNL platform submitted to the National Growth Fund by the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate. The initiative was established in collaboration with the National Plastics Recycling Platform (NPPR). A consortium of more than 150 collaborating parties has been set up from this platform, consisting of universities, colleges, knowledge institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, multinationals, start-ups and social organisations.
Programmes and pillars for the renewal of materials and processes
Circular PlasticsNL is developing various programs and pillars to realize material and process innovations for circular plastics and thus work towards 100% circularity by 2050 (Raw Materials Agreement) – and seize economic opportunities. Not only are current cycles closed, for example, but new materials are also being developed that can replace materials that are difficult to recycle in the future.
The programmes and pillars are:
- System integration of circular plastics
- Design of circular plastics
- Characterize, sort and wash
- Industrialization of plastics recycling
- Brightlands Circular Space
A decision support model
In the system integration programme of Circular Plastics NL, a decision support model is designed for modeling scenarios. Social themes such as life cycle assessment, costs, business models, behaviour, microplastics, regulations and policy, logistics and recycled material quality are included in this. This model gives direction to the circular plastic transition and ensures the right investments in innovation within the National Growth Fund.
Design, characterize, sort & wash and recycle
The programme lines ‘Design of circular plastics’, ‘characterization, sorting and washing’, and ‘industrialization of plastics recycling’ ensure technological innovation and upscaling in which the bottlenecks in the chain are tackled.
Efficient and inclusive ecosystem and nursery
In the Brightlands Circular Space programme line, investments are made in facilities to accelerate the scaling up from design to recycling. Together, the programs form the foundation for an efficient and inclusive ecosystem for circular plastics. In addition, there is a nursery for developing innovative disruptive technology for the next generation of circular plastics.
Show cases
Within the pillars, much attention is paid to chain collaboration. In the context of this collaboration, ten showcases have been defined that focus on a material and/or application. Points of attention are listed in the figure and programs in this area will be implemented in an integrated manner.
David Pappie, Director of Top Sectors & Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Climate:
“With this proposal, the National Growth Fund is investing in the necessary innovation and upscaling of circular plastics. A great opportunity for the Netherlands to link this social challenge to the strengths of Dutch knowledge institutions and the chemical industry. I look forward to bringing a circular plastics ecosystem in the Netherlands a big step closer together with the consortium.”
Link to the news item on Rijksoverheid.nl.
Questions?
– For general questions, please contact the secretariat of National Platform Plastics Recycling via: info@nppr.nl
– Spokesperson for this proposal is Esther Zondervan-van den Beuken, Circular Plastics coordinator of the Sustainable MaterialsNL steering group. She can be reached via esther.zondervan@tno.nl, tel: 06 224 285 47
