More and more tiny bits of plastic are ending up in the environment. The main sources of these microplastics are tyre erosion, plastic waste and plastic granules used as an industrial raw material. This is the outcome of a study conducted by RIVM.

Starting in 2025, the vaccination schedule used in the National Immunisation Programme for children will be updated. The changes apply to four scheduled vaccination times. This offers children even better protection against infectious diseases, such as measles and whooping cough.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management wants to revise soil regulations in the coming years. The existing standards and rules governing the reuse of secondary building materials, soil and dredged material are no longer up to date and need to be reviewed.

Only 7 percent of plastic packaging in the Netherlands is reused as material for new packaging. The Dutch government aims to ensure that by 2050, no packaging is made from (new) fossil-based resources.

The percentage of babies and toddlers that were vaccinated in the framework of the National Immunisation Programme remained about the same compared to last year. In children aged 9 years and older, vaccination coverage continued to decrease for most of the national childhood immunisations.

This week saw the start of babies being vaccinated against the rotavirus. This vaccination is included in the Dutch National Immunisation Programme as of this year. All parents of babies born on or after 1 January 2024 will receive an invitation for this.

In 2022, a slightly higher number of people in the Netherlands contracted diseases covered by the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) compared to 2021. This increase is likely due to the easing of coronavirus measures, such as social distancing.

The percentage of children vaccinated within the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) has fallen for the second year in a row, according to the 2022 report ‘Vaccination Coverage and Annual Report of the Dutch National Immunisation Programme'. RIVM is concerned about this decline.

Textiles are produced using chemicals. Although many hazardous chemicals may no longer be used in textile production, they may still be present in donations of old clothing. RIVM has conducted a study into the safety of recycled textiles.