You might have heard that the Netherlands is a super sustainable, climate-friendly country — a green warrior’s dream. The truth, however, is that this country still has a long way to go.
The Netherlands has an image of being as green as its ever-lasting fields, but listen, all praise is in need of some reality checks every now and then.
The Dutch are not always the pinnacle of climate progress you might imagine. In fact, here are nine very unsustainable things going on in the lowlands right now.
1. Have confusing-a** recycling systems
Step one to get any society moving towards a greener future is the good ol’ practice of recycling. It’s well-established, it’s second nature to most people, and it’s really, really easy. Well, to most people, in most places.
However, in the Netherlands, recycling systems vary a lot, and largely depend on where you live (literally, it might even differ from street to street).
In The Hague, for example, paper waste is collected at your doorstep once a month, while Leiden inhabitants have to make the journey to a paper waste collection point.
The Hague requires its people to separate plastic waste from other waste, while Leiden folks don’t have to worry about that (they have a fancy system extracting it after collection).
READ MORE | Recycling in the Netherlands: an international’s guide
In many places, recycling depends on individuals’ willingness to seek out recycling stations, and drag their collected waste there.
For busy bees, this is not only hard to achieve, but also tragically easy to forget.
That being said, while confusing rules might be a hassle, the Netherlands is doing pretty well overall. Roughly half of Dutch municipal waste gets recycled, keeping the country among the ten EU nations that hit the 50% mark or higher.
There’s a catch, though. According to Statistics Netherlands, the amount of household waste collected per person actually ticked up in 2024 — the first rise after years of steady decline.
Still, we can’t help but ask how high it could climb if the Dutch system were just a touch more user-friendly and accessible.
2. Contribute towards global deforestation, in more ways than one
Forests are an incredibly important piece in the puzzle of sucking carbon out of the atmosphere. But that’s just the beginning of the story.
Woods, generally speaking, are also key to mitigating the effects related to drought and flood, and maintaining the world’s biodiversity.
However, between 2001 and 2023, the global tree coverage decreased by 12%. This has been described as a significant climate hazard, brought about by a range of factors, amongst which is wildfires due to climate change, and deforestation related to agriculture.
READ MORE | The 8 greatest forests in the Netherlands for a nature escape
A group of seven European countries are responsible for 80% of the EU’s combined deforestation — and guess which country is a part of this group? The Netherlands.
Not only that: the Netherlands also snatched a spot among the top three countries when it came to deforestation per capita between 2005 and 2017.
In addition, the lowlands is also a huge driver of deforestation abroad (when importing commodities from countries like Brazil), placing them in fourth place in Europe when it comes to CO2 emissions from tropical deforestation. Yikes.
It also doesn’t help much that Dutch pension money is invested in the deforestation of the Amazon, or that the Netherlands is the main hub for the import of soy from South America to Europe — an infamously land-intensive sector.
3. Protest measures to combat the nitrogen crisis
The Netherlands has one of Europe’s highest nitrogen surpluses, meaning it’s contributing heavily to the slippery slope towards ecological catastrophe.
For years, the plan was to slash nitrogen emissions in half by 2030 — reasonable enough when faced with a crisis of this scale, right?
Not everyone agreed. Cutting nitrogen hits Dutch livestock farmers hard, and they’ve certainly let their dismay be heard.
With tens of millions of animals farmed here, the Netherlands is one of the world’s main food producers — a fact Dutch farmers know all too well. That’s why, in recent years, they’ve protested the hell out of the government’s nitrogen plans.
READ MORE | The easy guide to the Dutch nitrogen crisis, farmers’ protests, and more
And the target itself keeps shifting. In January 2025, a court in The Hague ordered the government to get at least half of nitrogen-sensitive nature areas below critical levels by 2030, or pay a €10 million fine.
Then, in June 2026, the cabinet unveiled a fresh nitrogen package reframing the headline goal as a 50% cut by 2035, with 2030 downgraded to an interim checkpoint for farming. Under the plan, farmers face ammonia cuts of up to 46% and a nationwide limit of 2.6 cows per hectare.
So the finish line has moved — even as the nature it’s meant to protect keeps waiting.
4. Exist as one of the world’s top meat lovers
Speaking of livestock, it’s probably no surprise that the country which invented the frikandel is also Europe’s biggest meat exporter, and the one of the world’s largest beef exporters.
It’s also no secret that meat production in general, and beef production most of all, is one of the most harmful industries in the equation of fighting climate change.
That being said, the Netherlands is not the worst country when it comes to actual meat consumption, lying at about 76kg of meat consumed per person annually.
That’s about the average in Europe, but if you think that sounds like too much, it’s because it is — from both a global and an environmental perspective.
Limiting the consumption of meat (and dairy) is the most impactful change you can implement in order to reduce the carbon footprint of your diet.
Yet Dutch people are lagging behind many similar European populations when it comes to adopting a full-on vegetarian diet (what about the bitterballen and kaas?).
5. Lag far behind on renewable energy consumption
You might have heard that the Netherlands generates the most solar power in Europe, or that the country has wind turbines as far as the eye can see.
All this is true, of course, but the rosy-red (or shall we say, green) fairytale of sustainable Dutch energy is sobered by the fact that Dutch people consume surprisingly little renewable energy themselves.
READ MORE | Renewable energy in the Netherlands: everything you need to know
The lion’s share of Dutch energy consumption is still fueled by natural gas and oil — so much so that the Netherlands had the third-lowest ratio of renewable energy consumption of all IEA countries in 2018.
Although the share of consumers opting for a green alternative is rising, the Dutch lag noticeably behind when compared to many other European countries.
6. Scooters everywhere, for no reason
The Netherlands is, famously, the land of bikes. And why wouldn’t it be?
The country is as flat as its pancakes, small enough for all its cities to be reachable by virtually any means of transportation, and has streets safe enough to cater to even the most chaotic cycling beginner.
But if you’ve spent more than a few days in any Dutch city, you’ll know that the humble bike is far from everyone’s favourite ride of choice. 🚲
We’ll give you a hint, it’s like a bike, but much louder and far more damaging to the environment.
More Dutch people than you’d think love to opt for a motorised scooter, even for short trips that are highly bikeable. Why not just bike, when the time and effort saved is so minimal?
READ MORE | If the world biked like the Dutch, CO2 emissions from cars would drop by 20%
The fact that Dutch bike paths are full of scooters is as confusing as it is annoying — both from an environmental and road safety perspective.
That being said, Dutch biking culture is among the best in the world, so the scooter issue might not be worth our worries (yet).
7. Produce tulips like there’s no tomorrow
Don’t worry, we’re not about to call for a nationwide tulip ban. The Dutch would have a collective heart attack. Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the Dutch tulip industry is anything but a climate enthusiast’s dream. 🌷
Firstly, although a delightful bouquet of tulips is a lovely gift, it goes without saying that the practice of growing massive amounts of plants, only to cut them down and leave them to die on a kitchen counter, is rather wasteful.
Secondly, the cold, cloudy, and windy climate in the Netherlands sometimes creates a need for greenhouses in order to produce flowers for the rest of the world.
These often require the use of highly energy-intensive C02-producing machines, with heating systems powered by natural gas.
Finally, even without greenhouses, the Dutch flower industry is also very water-intensive, and makes use of enormous amounts of (in many cases) harmful pesticides.
These pesticides are a danger to natural pollinators, soil quality, water quality, and the overall sustainability of the Netherlands’ world-famous flower industry.
8. Throw even more planes up into the air
Schiphol, the biggest airport in the Netherlands and one of the busiest in Europe, has long dreamed of squeezing more passengers through its gates every year. Sustainable? Not exactly.
For a moment, it looked like things might go the other way. In November 2025, the government capped annual flights at 478,000, down from the previous ceiling of 500,000, specifically to cut noise pollution.
Then came the plot twist. In March 2026, the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, scrapped that cap, ruling the government hadn’t properly justified how counting flights would actually reduce noise.
The nighttime limit survived, with no more than 27,000 flights a year in the small hours, but the overall ceiling vanished, reverting to older 2008 rules.
Now the government is pressing ahead with a revised framework, expected around November 2026, that still aims for that 478,000 figure. Environmental groups, meanwhile, argue the number should be far lower.
In spite of all this, Schiphol never misses a chance to brag about its climate credentials: wind-powered buildings, a “zero-emissions airport” goal by 2030, the lot.
That’s all lovely. But more flights, however you dress it up, is unquestionably moving in the opposite direction to where the science says we should be heading.
9. Use plastic. Everywhere.
One aspect of life in the Netherlands that has surprised many newcomers lately is the amount of plastic in Dutch grocery stores.
Although the Netherlands is not the worst in many aspects when it comes to plastic pollution, it is hard to ignore the piles of plastic used for unnecessary protection of produce. Most of which ends up in the world’s oceans — despite the consumer’s attempts and intentions of recycling.
READ MORE | Hey Dutchies, we need to talk about plastic waste
Furthermore, even though the Netherlands has a ban on free plastic bags, virtually no Dutch stores provide plastic-free bag alternatives.
If you forget to pack an extra tote for your after-work grocery shopping, most stores in the Netherlands will make you choose between a 20-cent plastic bag, and carrying all your food home in your arms.
For most consumers in a time pinch, the choice is pretty simple. 🤷
The Netherlands is doing a lot in the global fight against climate change, but the sad truth is that there’s little time to rest on the laurels. More effort is needed in many aspects of Dutch society, despite its reputation for being a green powerhouse. ♻️
What do you think: does the Netherlands deserve its title as a sustainable superpower? Tell us your opinions in the comments below!
Good article with good information. Yes, the Netherlands needs to be more vigilant in the fight against global warming. I would add to your article cigarette butts. Everyone, Dutch or not, should do something about discarding cigarette butts on the streets. They end up in the oceans. Cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash and are harmful to marine life and to the overall milieu. Cigarette filters are composed of 95% cellulose acetate, a form of plastic, and can take up to 10 years to decompose. Butt waste is not biodegradable: Filters are non-biodegradable, and while ultraviolet rays from the sun will eventually break them into smaller pieces, the toxic material never disappears. No buts about it!
Correction: when you say that NL is the largest meat exporter in Europe, that is not exactly true. The issue is that anything going out of NL through the port of Rotterdam is counted as “export…” and this is a distortion. It also applies to many agricultural products. So, if the meat is actually produced (raised and slaughtered) in France, Belgium or Germany, for instance, but sent to the US (or anywhere else) passing through NL it might be counted as “Dutch export.” When you compare the volume of agricultural production in NL and the volume of exports, you might find that NL exports more than it produces, regarding certain products.
With the weather already being unpredictable,I can’t imagine what will happen if climate change is not seriously tackled.
I have never lived in a country with such strong winds.I tip my bike helmet to you for your bravery .