European Waste Statistics data for a Circular Economy Monitor: opportunities and limitations from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region

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). Having the task to assess the performance towards the achievement of set targets and to steer decision-making, CEMs need to rely on a multitude of statistics and datasets. Waste statistics play an important role in circular economy monitoring as they provide insights into the remaining linear part of the economy. The collection of waste statistics is mandated by the European Commission which provides general guidelines on data collection and processing. The Netherlands has one of the most detailed waste registries among the EU countries. The country’s largest metropolitan region, Amsterdam, is currently building a CEM which tracks progress over time towards the set goals, highlights which areas need improvement and estimates target feasibility. This paper uses the Amsterdam CEM as a case-study to explore how the existing system of waste registration in the Netherlands is able to support decision-making. The data is explored with the help of four queries that relate to the CEM’s goals and require data mapping to be answered. The data mapping and analysis process has revealed several limitations present in the waste data collection and a number of gaps present in current circular economy research and data analysis. At the same time, the available data already supports significant insights into the status quo of the current waste system and provides opportunities for circular economy monitoring.