Circular Plastics NL (CPNL) is an initiative within the National Growth Fund. The goal is to make plastics fully circular and use subsidies to accelerate the transition. During the Circular Plastics Conference 2023, the urgency to address the challenges within plastic value chains to achieve full circularity has become increasingly evident. Despite significant progress, several bottlenecks still hinder the goal for achieving a fully circular plastic value chain by 2050.
We had the opportunity to sit down with Marc Spekreijse, the director of CPNL and discuss the ambitions and goals of Circular Plastics NL and his contribution to the Circular Plastics Conference 2023.
The Circular Plastics NL program
Circular Plastics NL (CPNL) has been dedicated to achieving the ambitious goal of making plastics fully circular. The Circular Plastics NL program runs for eight years and consists of eight program lines strategically designed to address bottlenecks within various value chains, ultimately closing the loops for existing plastics.
Marc Spekreijse begins: “Our program started with more than 160 parties, including Circular Plastics Initiative (CPI) and their larger network, contributing to our proposal for the National Growth Fund. With its independent governance structure, Circular Plastics NL was given the responsibility to further work out the program, connecting (with) interested parties, and to accelerate and make the transition happen using subsidies. Motivated by a common vision to transform the plastic industry from a linear system to a closed-loop model, Circular Plastics NL and the CPI bring their unique qualities to the industry.”
Subsidies and Innovation
Within the National Growth Fund, Circular Plastics NL will arrange for open calls, allowing various stakeholders operating in the field of plastics to apply for subsidies. “The possibilities offered by these subsidies allow us to make significant strides in the transition, which would not happen without this financial support”, Marc adds. Additionally, parties can use project-based support from the experienced CPI team to help them prepare for the application and execution of their projects if needed. Marc continues: “Project proposals will be assessed on criteria such as impact, viability, and fit with the overall program objectives. One more crucial aspect is that the proposals are innovative and bring something new that strengthens the Dutch ecosystem. We aim to accelerate technology and innovation towards commercialization at industrial scale rather than funding approaches that are commercially already available today.”
The open call with generic research projects or showcases, including pilot and demonstration plants will be issued by Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO). The open calls for scientific research to support a system integration model and the incubator program will be issued by Netherlands Organization for Scientific Education (NWO).
Circular Plastics Conference 2023
“The Circular Plastics Conference 2023 provides the ideal opportunity to bring everyone together,” Marc continues. “During the conference, I will elaborate further on our program in more detail and outline the requirements the process for parties to participate in the open calls. We aim to inform interested parties about the possibilities and opportunities offered by the program. The better we can inform them, the stronger the proposals can be, and the more impact we can create in the transition.” Marc emphasizes the importance of taking action now. “Change doesn’t happen only by running more studies and writing more reports; it requires people to come together and truly work on it. Time is running out, there is too much value in our plastic waste to simply burn it and we need to start now. A physical gathering serves as an ideal starting point for that.”
Follow for Circular Plastics Updates
The Circular Plastics Conference 2023 is marked by candid exchanges, forging a meeting of the minds. The program is built around the Circular Plastics Roadmap, which is designed by Circular Plastics Initiative together with our community.
Follow our LinkedIn for updates on the field of circular plastics.