Government policy and key figures - HVC Groep

The government’s policy on waste is primarily concerned with prevention: reducing the amount of waste produced. In addition the government tries to ensure that as much waste is possible is recycled or reused. Only when this is not possible may waste be incinerated. And only waste that cannot be incinerated may be landfilled.

A large proportion (60 to 70%) of Dutch waste legislation is based on European Commission regulations and directives. The national rules are contained in the Environmental Management Act, a framework law. This means that many topics are not legislated for in the act itself but in secondary legislation. 

Waste production
The Netherlands “produce” more than 61 million tonnes of waste a year. Much of the waste is produced by industry or comes from the demolition of homes and other buildings. In 2008 the 7 million households in the Netherlands threw away 9 million tonnes of waste.
Sorting waste is important
The better waste is sorted, the better it can be processed and the greater the “yield” from waste.

(Sources: www.rijksoverheid.nl and ww.verenigingafvalbedrijven.nl)