Dutch government plans to recycle all raw materials by 2050

The Dutch government wants to close a material agreement with companies, municipalities, provinces and civil society organizations before the end of the year. The ultimate goal for this deal is to recycle all raw materials by 2050, State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment wrote parliament, ANP reports. Raw materials are becoming increasingly scares, which means the use of raw materials must be dramatically reduced, according to the government. "We must get rid of this disposable mentality", Dijksma wrote to parliament. The agreement aims to halve the use of raw materials by 2030, and recycle all raw materials by 2050. An added advantage is that this will also reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses. The agreement must lead to products being reused more often, and that products that are used only ones become the rarity. The agreement also includes the eventual disappearance of environmentally unfriendly packaging, like for chips and soups. Dijksma also wants municipalities to improve their waste separation, and made 27 million euros available towards this goal. This money can be used, for example, to teach kids at the seven thousand primary schools in the country about recycling, Dijksma wrote.