Half of the plastic waste collected in the Netherlands is burned in German ovens rather than recycled because it is made up of so many different sorts, Trouw reports on Tuesday.

The problem has led Ruud Sondag, CEO of the waste disposal company Van Gansewinkel, to suggest high value plastics should be given a marker – or cheap micro chip – which can be used to indentify materials to be recycled, Trouw says.
Much collected plastic is useless, Sondag said in magazine P+. ‘You can make a nice bench for the park with, but that is about all,’ he was quoted as saying. ‘So eventually it is burnt in Germany… because they can’t do anything with it there either.’