Government-wide Programme for a Circular Economy

To ensure that in 2050 everyone has enough to eat and can buy the goods they need, like clothing and electrical devices, our economy needs to become circular. In a circular economy there is no waste. That’s because products are better designed and materials are reused as much as possible. To achieve this, the Government-wide Programme for a Circular Economy, entitled 'A Circular Economy in the Netherlands by 2050', was presented to the House of Representatives on 14 September 2016. The programme sets out what we need to do in order to utilise our raw materials, products, and services in more efficient and smarter ways, thus enabling us to realise the ambition - the Netherlands circular by 2050. A great deal of circular efforts have already been initiated, yet more is needed, and we must and can step up the pace. In this transition, many parties can and are willing to participate: companies, governments, knowledge institutes, NGOs and many more. It is now up to these organisations and the people active within them. The National Agreement on the Circular Economy marks the starting point for the concerted efforts. The agreement will underpin the development of transition agendas.The government has selected 5 economic sectors and value chains that will be the first to switch to a circular economy. These 5 priorities are important to the Dutch economy and have a big impact on the environment. Much is already being done in these sectors to move towards a circular economy, both in the Netherlands and in Europe. The 5 economic sectors are: biomass and food, plastics, manufacturing industry, construction sector and consumer goods.

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