Resentment of the Dutch against waste fees grows, waste is increasingly disposed of illegally

Recently, the disposal of garbage has become a problem for many citizens. To protect the environment, several municipalities have focused on reducing waste by requiring citizens to pay for each bag of trash they dispose of. However, many citizens are resisting this measure. As a result, garbage bags are deliberately placed next to containers and pile up, and resentment among Dutch citizens is growing, the AD writes.

The aim of the measure is for citizens to produce less residual waste. Because in 2015 the then cabinet agreed with municipalities and waste processors to reduce the annual amount of residual waste from 240 kilograms per person to 100 kilograms in 2020. In 2025 the amount of residual waste could even be reduced to 30 kilograms, the newspaper reports.

To ensure this, the diftar method of new waste management was created. In this method, those who generate the waste must also pay a corresponding fee. However, the annual waste fee is divided into a fixed and a variable part. This means that the less waste produced, the lower the waste fee.

In Arnhem, this spectacle has led to a referendum to end this method of waste disposal. Gerrie Elfrink, SP party chairman is not surprised about the outcome. "Implementing it so rigorously doesn't work." It's not social either, he told AD. “The elderly and the chronically ill with a relatively large amount of medical waste pay more. Families with young children and lots of diapers are also the victims.” In wealthy neighborhoods, however, the measure has met with much approval, where waste disposal also functions more smoothly.

In other Dutch communities, too, the diftar method presented more of a problem and reflected the citizens' displeasure. In Bunschoten, for example, almost 1,500 households did not dispose of a single kilogram of residual waste for a year in order not to have to pay fees. Also in Enschede, the new waste disposal system resulted in some 660,000 kilograms of illegal waste, the cost of which the municipality ultimately had to bear itself.

Despite the resistance, many municipalities in the Netherlands have opted for the diftar method in recent years. Many of the municipalities hope that this will make citizens more more conscious about separating waste as well as causing residual waste.

According to Statistics Netherlands, research shows that the diftar method does lead to less residual waste. For example, residents hand in 50% less residual waste. In municipalities where diftar was introduced, the average amount was 94 kilograms per year (2019). As a result, the annual waste levy was on average 70 euros lower. In municipalities without the new method of waste disposal, the total was 182 kilograms.

However, recycling researcher Bakker is rather skeptical about the fact that 30 kilograms of residual waste per person will remain. In his opinion, Even with diftar, municipalities do not achieve that by a long shot.

"To achieve that, we have to drastically change our way of life. We need to buy less stuff and gadgets, and don't throw food away so quickly.'' People also have to spend longer with stuff. "That means more repairs and not immediately buying a new product," he tells AD.