Two decades of practising the circular economy in the Netherlands, 20 years of REMONDIS Nederland: a milestone that the company celebrated at its premises in Son on 03 September 2026 in the presence of colleagues, partners, politicians and business leaders. This was a special day for all those involved and an opportunity not only to look back at what they had built up and developed together but also – and above all – to look ahead at how the circular economy will move forward in the future.
The celebrations began with the official opening of the company’s new offices in Son and a spectacular performance of acrobatics and dance. The artists, hanging from ropes, put on their show, moving up and down the building’s facade and seemingly defying gravity.
After this spectacular start, attention turned to a number of topics that are becoming ever more important for both the Netherlands and Europe: namely, how to keep valuable raw materials circulating in our economy for longer, how to close material life cycles and how to ensure local industry remains strong and competitive? These questions are in step with the way REMONDIS Nederland has developed. Over the last 20 years, the company has steadily grown and now has over 40 business locations and more than 3,000 employees.
Growth based on trust
Managing director Dr Andreas Krawczik first took a look back at 20 years of REMONDIS in the Netherlands. This development has not been shaped by one single milestone but rather by gradual growth that has created space for local entrepreneurship and for trust to be built up in the dedicated people working there.
Building up trust is key to running a successful business – a fact that was again underlined during the discussions held with Norbert Rethmann, patriarch of the RETHMANN Group, and REMONDIS board member Egbert Tölle. The two of them talked about the important role the business in the Netherlands has taken on in this international, family-run company.
Norbert Rethmann (l) and Egbert Tölle (r) talking to the presenter Tooske Ragas
The overall conclusion of the discussion: Start where material life cycles can already be closed today!
The circular economy needs collaborations
This day, though, did not just focus on what the company had already achieved. A look at the future of the circular economy was also on the agenda. Stientje van Veldhoven, Minister of Climate and Green Growth, stressed how important high-quality recycling is for supplying raw materials in the Netherlands and Europe. At the end of the day, if materials are recovered and reused, they do not have to be found elsewhere. For this to happen, however, there need to be investments and innovations and the industry, recycling sector and politicians must all work together.
Arno Visser, Koninklijke Bouwend Nederland, contrasted this with the huge investment challenges facing the Netherlands. Afterwards, Tooske Ragas led a lively discussion with participants from along the whole of the supply chain.
The conversation between Dyonne Rietveld from Uniper, Stefan Verhoeven from Miele, Jos Habets from DAF Trucks and Wouter van Aggelen from REMONDIS made it very clear just how closely energy, production, the choice of materials, and recycling are intertwined. While technical capabilities are growing all the time, the circular economy will not be able to really move forward until there is a market for recycled raw materials and companies feel sufficiently confident to invest. Their conclusion was as simple as it was important: Don’t wait for the perfect circular system. Start where material life cycles can already be closed today and build on this!
Ab van der Touw, an honorary member of the German-Dutch Chamber of Commerce, then held a commemorative speech, bringing the specialist programme to an end.
Managing director Dr Andreas Krawczik thanked Tooske Ragas for leading the discussions in such an entertaining way
Norbert Rethmann and Egbert Tölle were really pleased with both the milestone celebrations and the successful entrepreneurship at REMONDIS Nederland
Determined and full of ideas, the Dutch are leading the way in a whole host of different areas – as can be seen by their efforts to set up a future-proof circular economy. Find out more about the circular economy in general and the specific contributions being made by REMONDIS Nederland in this brand story.
Recycling up close
After the programme of speeches and discussions had been completed, the guests were given the opportunity to see how the circular economy might actually be implemented in the future. The operations in Son make it very easy to imagine this. The high-tech sorting facility there makes the most of modern technologies, such as AI and air separators, to separate waste into 22 different mono material streams. This allows specific materials to be recovered so they can be returned to market for reuse as raw materials.
Technology alone, however, cannot close material life cycles. What is needed is dialogue between the business community and society as well as reliable framework conditions and joint solutions to the question of how supplies of raw materials can be made more resilient and more independent over the long term. This celebratory get-together effectively represented just this as it was the people who attended the event and the joint discussions that made this day so special and showed what long-standing commitment and strong collaborations can achieve.
Van harte gefeliciteerd, REMONDIS Nederland! Here’s to the next 20 years and many more closed material life cycles.
Image credits: © REMONDIS Nederland B.V.
