An international voluntary agreement that aims to make better use of secondary resources was signed by representatives from France, Flanders, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom last week (3 March).

Led by the Dutch Government, the North Sea Resources Roundabout (NSRR), in the first instance, will aim to stimulate trade of incinerator bottom ash (IBA), which can contain plastics and ultra-fine non-ferrous metals such as aluminium, lead, zinc, silver and gold. Other materials, including PVC and compost, will be addressed later as part of the agreement.

According to the deal’s organisers, materials sourced from IBA are difficult to trade because they are regarded differently in the laws of in various countries. Through working on the deal, the signatories have developed a harmonised approach to the interpretation and enforcement of waste legislation and regulations to increase the trade in end-of-life materials.

Signatories also hope that the deal will enable IBA to be processed more effectively. Acceleratio, a Dutch consultancy that helps to develop circular business models, first came up with the idea of the deal and points to the example of Dutch company Inashco, which has developed a technique to reclaim non-ferrous metals from IBA. Waste management companies from around the North Sea region will now be able to export IBA to Inashco more easily, facilitating the recovery of reusable resources, it says.

A team made up of representatives of governments and business communities from the participating countries will work out solutions aimed at removing further barriers, including those regarding compost and PVC, at borders.

The deal has been signed for a five-year period, during which a maximum of 10 waste flows will be investigated.

‘Redefining what constitutes resources’

Commenting on the deal, Dutch Environmental Minister Sharon Dijksma said: “To make our economy greener, I want to allow sustainability leaders in the business community room for innovation. And that is exactly what this deal does.

“By redefining what constitutes ‘resources’, and at the same time aligning the definition among neighbouring countries, things will get easier for businesses. This will benefit the environment and will add considerable impetus to economic activity between countries in the North Sea region.”

Ray Georgeson, Chief Executive of the Resource Association, added: “The NSRR initiative has the potential to unlock barriers that hamper the flow of secondary resources across Europe without endangering the environment. With the prospect of encouraging investment in a more circular economy in Europe and generating a good spirit of partnership across borders, we warmly welcome it and congratulate the Dutch Government on taking this important initiative so far so quickly.”

Resources Minister Rory Stewart was present to sign the deal, and praised it during a discussion on the circular economy package at the European Environment Council the following day (4 March), saying it would ‘see a great increase in the flow of circular economy goods and services between the countries bordering the North Sea thanks to the use of harmonised standards and regulations’.

Looking ahead to future barriers to be worked on during the deal, Ton van der Giessen, Managing Director van Werven Plastic Recycling, said: “PVC recycling in the EU has the potential to prevent millions tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, give a safe second live to a potential volume of 100 million tons used PVC material and could create jobs in the EU for 8,000 people. For us, the International Green Deal on the North Sea Resources Roundabout provides the frontrunners in PVC recycling with a platform and the right stakeholders to exchange the environmental and economical facts and dramatically speed up time to explore potential solution for the barriers experienced.”