The House of Representatives is hotly debating the government's ambitious climate goals. One of the methods to meet those targets is recycling. Elbert Dijkgraaf, Professor of Empirical Economics of the public sector at Erasmus School of Economics, researched the consequences of this policy. Is this really the solution?
Recycling has long been seen as one of the good solutions to the climate problem. However, according to Dijkgraaf, more recycling actually leads to more waste. 'There is always ten to 15 per cent residue left behind that cannot be recycled. That residue is incinerated,' the professor argues. In Dijkgraaf's view, incineration capacity will actually have to be expanded if recycling continues on a large scale.
Another question is whether less incineration will lead to environmental gains. Dijkgraaf rather assumes the opposite: 'There is already a shortage of incineration capacity in Europe. What does not get incinerated, gets dumped. And landfill is much worse for the environment than incineration.'
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You can download the full article from Algemeen Dagblad, 19 April 2023, above.