At table with House Committee on Circular Finance and Tax Shift

On December 11, Circular Plastics NL Foundation (CPNL) participated in the Infrastructure and Water Management Standing Committee's roundtable discussion with Lower House members on circular finance and tax shift. Director-director Marc Spekreijse presented a reflection, with recommendations and insights also included in a position paper submitted in advance.

Urgency for circular finance
CPNL stresses the need for circular financing to accelerate the transition to circular plastics. While the linear (fossil) industry has enjoyed financial support for decades, the fledgling circular sector is struggling to scale up and innovate.

"Instead of valuable raw materials, residual streams are still too often seen as waste. Recycling should pay off, but that is not the case today," said Marc Spekreijse. "The business case is often negative, as evidenced by the many bankruptcies in the sector. Without room for investment, necessary innovations are left behind. A temporary emergency fund can help preserve and expand existing recycling capacity."

Recommendations for change
CPNL shared concrete recommendations to support the circular transition:

• Level playing field in the EU: Avoid local complexity and focus on EU-wide regulation.
• Encourage demand for recyclate: Use tools such as carbon pricing and the UPV to make fossil alternatives unattractive.
• Tax consumption, not raw materials: Shift taxes to the end of the chain to promote circularity.
• Reduce VAT on products with recyclate: Make sustainable choices more attractive to consumers.
• Attention to recyclability: Focus not only on % recycled content, but also on design for recycling.
• Prevent incineration: institute an incineration ban, as in Belgium, to increase the availability of recyclate.
• Temporary support: Introduce an emergency fund and long-term contracts for recyclers to stabilize the industry.

Learn more

Position Paper Circular Plastics NL 

Video registration Round Table Conversation Committee I&W

Together we can ensure that plastic waste streams are seen as valuable resources. No Time to Waste!