Waste sector a major player in building a sustainable society

Annual Review 2009 published

By reprocessing waste into secondary materials and energy the waste sector helps to reduce the depletion of raw materials and protect the climate. Waste companies are committed to further growth in materials recycling. The Dutch Waste Management Association expects the next Dutch government to recognise the important part waste companies can play in environmental, climate, energy and land use planning issues. These issues and other developments in the waste sector are discussed in the Dutch Waste Management Association’s Annual Review 2009, published today.

The Dutch Waste Management Association believes that economic development and sustainable development are perfectly compatible and can and should reinforce each other. The developments in the waste market are a good example of this, but further optimisation of the waste industry’s role as producer of raw materials and energy will require an extra incentive from government. Sustainable procurement by government departments and companies will help, but the Dutch Waste Management Association does not rule out the use of tax instruments to stimulate the use of secondary materials.

To achieve the 60 per cent materials recycling target for household waste by 2015, it will be necessary to raise the rate of separate collection and treatment of household kitchen and garden waste. Giving more policy discretion to local authorities must not lead to a decline in materials recycling. To achieve the target the Dutch Waste Management Association argues for the early introduction of an administrative order on construction and demolition waste and for better source separation of bulky household waste at municipal waste recycling centres.

The Dutch Waste Management Association does not think the provisions in the Dutch Government’s 2010 Tax Plan to expedite the remediation of former landfills will deliver the desired result. This is a missed opportunity because the environment, land use planning, the economy and the Treasury will all benefit from an appropriate regulation.

In addition to the disposal of non-recyclable and non-combustible waste, landfills provide an essential reserve waste disposal capacity, for example in cases of emergency. Guaranteeing this function will require a form of commercial operation that is independent of the amount of waste going to landfill. A study into the future of the landfill sector recently launched by the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment – something the Dutch Waste Management Association has been urging for years – should provide firm pointers.

A health and safety catalogue for the waste sector is being compiled in consultation between employers’ and employees’ organisations and the waste industry. In 2009 the Labour Inspectorate approved the provisions relating to some of the risks in the sections on General Provisions, Municipal Waste Recycling Centres and Household Chemical Waste Depots, Waste Collection, Waste Treatment, Composting, Incineration, Landfill and
 
Sewer Maintenance. Following approval, these sections came into force as a reference for enforcement in the waste sector. For the other risks the relevant provisions in the catalogue will be revised and tightened up this year.

Note to the editor (not for publication)

For more information please contact:
Dick Hoogendoorn, director of the Dutch Waste Management Association: + 31 73 627 94 44 / + 31 6 41 00 73 99