by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Amsterdam’s Wallen district is a policy laboratory whether we plan it that way or not: narrow streets, fragile quay walls, dense hospitality, and a constant stream of vehicles nobody particularly wants there. For years, “lighter vehicles in the historic center” has been a slogan more than a practice. Oscar Circulair, a waste and resource collector …
Amsterdam is quietly building one of Europe’s most interesting experiments in urban freight: moving household and commercial waste over its canals instead of through its streets. What started as a modest pilot in the Red Light District in 2021 (electric barges collecting garbage bags twice a week, fed by small electric carts from the surrounding …
Books about waste are usually written by policy people, consultants, or journalists. Simon Paré-Poupart, Trash! A Garbageman’s Story is written by a man who has hauled nearly 70,000 tons of it over 20 years on the streets of Montreal. That difference matters. Paré-Poupart writes from the bottom rung of the labor market; “you can’t fall …
Circular models can be both sustainable and profitable—if developed with the right partners. But is municipal waste collection truly a core competence? Urban waste collection is a complex challenge. In many cities, residents and businesses struggle with persistent litter on the streets. Despite the efforts of frontline staff, stricter rules, and awareness campaigns, waste problems …
During a consortium meeting of the Circular Foam research project, there was a vigorous debate about digitalization in the circular supply chain. Participants view digitalization as a critical factor for success (alongside other crucial aspects such as regulation and technology). But what exactly does digitalization mean for circularity? There are barriers to digitalization for large-scale, …
As appointed in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan, cities and regions in EU member countries start accompanying their circular economy strategies by monitoring frameworks, often called Circular Economy Monitors (CEM). CEMs need to rely on many statistics and datasets to assess performance towards achieving set targets and steer decision-making. Waste statistics play an essential role in …
European cities face unprecedented challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss, growing economic instability, and global chain disruptions. The circular economy is increasingly recognized as an excellent opportunity to tackle these challenges, unlocking wide-ranging benefits that help cities thrive and become more liveable and resilient. This is precisely why the Circular Cities Declaration (CCD) has …
CityBarge, Renewi, and their logistics partners are starting to transport commercial waste on the canals of Leiden (NL). CityBarge’s mission is to make cities more liveable by restoring existing canals and using them for city logistics. Through a combination of a zero-emission pusher tug and pushed barges, logistics flows in the inner city are transferred …
Every day large quantities of waste are generated in cities. A lot of this waste is incinerated. How can we turn high-quality waste resources into value? Monitoring tool geoFluxus leads the way to a circular economy by mapping waste flows. When it comes to household waste the City has a duty to collect and process …
The Dutch construction industry is the biggest producer of waste, according to CBS-data, but also accounts for over half of the use of all recycled materials in the Netherlands. The construction industry uses 35-40% recycled materials. Widespread reuse of building components can promote the circularity of materials in the building sector.