Policy: Circular economy
In Amsterdam we want to ensure a good life for everyone, within the Earth’s natural boundaries. That can be done in a circular city in which we adopt a smarter approach to scarce raw materials, produce and consume differently.
Amsterdam Circular Strategy 2020-2025
The strategy aims to significantly reduce the use of new raw materials, thus contributing to a sustainable city. In the coming years, the City will map out various material flows, from entry to processing, in order to preserve valuable raw materials. The aim is to halve the use of new raw materials by 2030 and to achieve a fully circular city by 2050.
We have described the approach for this in the Amsterdam Circular Strategy 2020-2025. Or read the public version.
Amsterdam City Doughnut
In the strategy we use the Amsterdam City Doughnut of the British economist Kate Raworth. The model describes how societies and businesses can contribute to economic development while still respecting the limits of the planet and our society.
What is a circular economy?
In a circular economy we reuse raw and other materials over and over again. That way we avoid waste and close the cycles. We learn to do more with less. In a circular economy, the value of raw materials is retained as much as possible throughout a product’s lifecycle, from design to disposal. A ladder of circularity has been designed for this purpose, showing which processing options are preferable to others. For example:
- refuse, rethink, reduce relate to the changing use and design of products. Examples are avoiding the use of plastic cups, sharing cars and producing the same products with fewer raw materials.
- reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture relate to the use phase of products. These are aimed at prolonging the lifecycle as much as possible. Second-hand stores and repair centres play a role here
- repurpose, recycle, recover cover the end of a product’s life: components can be repurposed, while materials can be recycled and, as a last option, incinerated with energy recovery.
What does the strategy involve?
As the City of Amsterdam, we are focusing on 3 value chains:
Food and organic waste streams
Ambition 1: Short food chains provide a robust sustainable food system
Ambition 2: Healthy and sustainable food for the people of Amsterdam
Ambition 3: High-quality processing of organic waste streams
Consumer goods
Ambition 1: The City sets the right example by reducing its consumption
Ambition 2: Using what we have more sparingly
Ambition 3: Amsterdam makes the most of discarded products
Built environment
Ambition 1: The transition to circular development requires a joint effort
Ambition 2: The City sets the right example by formulating circular criteria
Ambition 3: A circular approach to the existing city
Who does what?
Amsterdam cannot do this alone and fortunately it doesn’t have to. The Dutch government and the European Union also have circular ambitions. We work with the central government and with Europe on policy choices to make the world cleaner and society more equitable. For example, a shift from taxation on labour to taxation on raw materials and energy is an important precondition for creating a circular economy. In the city we are now working with the 7 city districts and with many local initiatives, market parties, knowledge institutions and residents.
Measure our progress
To find out whether Amsterdam is on the right track, we are going to measure our progress. We are developing a Monitor with which we can determine the social and ecological impact of the transition. The Monitor charts the extent to which Amsterdam’s economy has become circular and identifies areas in which more needs to be done. The Monitor will enable us to measure whether our goals of halving the use of primary raw materials by 2030 and becoming 100% circular by 2050 are feasible.
See also
The Guardian: interview with Marieke van Doorninck, deputy mayor of Amsterdam