Plastic Pact: plastic packaged products must make use of at least 35% of recycled plastic. (Credit: tom_crew on Pixabay)
The Netherlands is moving to make producers fully responsible for plastic packaging and manufacturing and giving them a six-year transition period to make all relted products fully recyclable, the news agency NOS reports.
According to an article on Neweurope.eu, the so-called Plastic Pact agreement between State Secretary Van Veldhoven and more than 70 companies also aims for 20% less plastic used by 2025 than in 2017. By 2025, at least 70% of disposable plastic products must be recycled without the loss of quality. Moreover, one-off plastic or plastic packaged products must make use of at least 35% of recycled plastic.
The Netherlands produces 250 million tonnes of plastic a year for different products that range from smartphones to shopping bags.
Veldhoven calls plastic a useful and versatile material, “but it does not belong in our environment.”
