The Dutch Plastic Pact (Plastic Pact NL) was launched in the Netherlands in February 2019, and it is the first step to make single-use plastic products and packaging more sustainable and suitable for reuse. Ninety-seven parties have signed the pact, including producers, retailers and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW).

The Pact includes measurable targets, and it has been agreed that progress will be evaluated. The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, RIVM has now received data for the baseline measurement from the participating parties on the use of plastic in 2017 and 2018. This baseline measurement concerns the four objectives of  Plastic Pact NL for 2025: 

• single-use plastic products and packaging will be 100 per cent recyclable; 
• 20 per cent less plastic packaging through, among other things, greater reuse;
• at least 70 per cent of single-use products and packaging will be recycled; 
• these products will comprise at least 35 per cent recycled plastic.

Most of the data is about the possibilities for recycling and the use of recycled plastic. Very little information regarding the reuse and sorting of plastic has been sent in. Similarly, little information has been received about the quantities of hazardous substances, such as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), in plastic. The monitoring has got off to a good start, but it is important that more parties deliver data in the coming years. Only then can real conclusions be drawn about the progress of Plastic Pact NL.

Setting up the monitoring for Plastic Pact NL is a learning process in which improvements take place every year. Not all companies have yet been able to provide data for 2017 and 2018. Some companies have indicated that they are improving their monitoring systems to be able to provide data for the coming period.