"Minimum plastic in soil and dredge sludge"

The soil and dredging used in the construction of roads and dikes as well as in the reduction of puddles may contain "sporadic" plastic from 2019. This is what State Secretary Van Veldhoven writes in a letter to the House of Representatives

It is now used in the construction of roads, sludge and dredging sludge (mud mixed with pebbles and rubbish ), which can not contain more than 20% of extra-soil materials. This also includes plastic.

The zero percent of plastic is not feasible because plastic decomposes only very slowly. This is why the standard is used "sporadically". Cleaner soil and dredged sludge must also be used to reduce the nature of natural waters. This is done to give more space to plants and animals on the banks.

Plasticsoep

The government also wants to tackle the causes of plastic soup at sea. This is caused in part by plastic from rivers. It must be mapped where the litter is flowing in the rivers and where it accumulates, so that the plastic can be collected and reused. 5 million euros will be made available.

State Secretary Van Veldhoven has already announced the ban on disposable plastic, such as plates, straws and stirrers, as well as cotton swabs. Companies need to better reuse non-natural materials.

"The applications of plastic are innumerable," says Van Veldhoven, "but does not belong to either the water or the environment." It takes hundreds of years to perish, so this problem does not solve automatically. "