A study by ING’s Economic Bureau has shown that the Dutch are using 26 million pieces of plastic food packaging each year. This is more than in previous years, largely due to population growth and the rise of individually packaged meals.

If you break that statistic down, that means 1500 pieces of plastic food packaging are used by each person each year- so about four per day. These things really add up!

Plastic is used in the food industry because it is lightweight and cheap to produce. Plastic manufacturing costs have barely risen over the last decade, according to NOS. When it comes to food, plastic has the advantage of increasing the shelf life of food and drink, ensuring food safety and being easy to transport and use.

Plastic and the environment

However, plastic is a massive problem for the environment. It takes hundreds or thousands of years to break down. Even then it continues to pollute the environment as micro or nano plastics. A lot of it ends up in the ocean, so we were super happy to see that The Ocean Cleanup successfully gathered up its first plastic from the sea with its plastic catcher. It is also the main source of litter in the streets, and harms wildlife if they come into contact with it. Amsterdam is encouraging people to go plastic fishing in its canals to deal with the problem.

Sad news: The Dutch consume 26 billion plastic food packaging annually. If we want to stop the plastic pollution, we must also stop producing new plastic. #plasticsoup https://t.co/1VgBLq99df

— The Great Bubble Barrier (@Bubble_Barrier) October 10, 2019

Consumers are more aware of plastic packaging

Consumers are becoming more aware of the negative aspects of plastic packaging, and have been asking supermarkets for alternatives. We even have a guide on how to reduce plastic use in the Netherlands. However, the situation is complicated, because alternatives such as glass take a lot more energy to produce and are heavier.

According to ING, the food sector can have a major impact on the situation by using lighter packaging- for example using foil instead of plastic lids, putting holes in the packaging, and no longer packaging individually. Furthermore, more plastic should be reused, and only recyclable types of plastic should be made afresh. Earlier this year, the Dutch government created a “plastic pact”, vowing to make all plastic recyclable by 2025 (though it’s not clear whether this target will be met).

Have you noticed how much plastic packaging is in Dutch supermarkets? And have you been trying to avoid it? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature image: Emilian Robert Vicol/Flickr

The email addresses and other details of 250,000 members of the Dutch prostitution forum hookers.nl have been accessed by a hacker, who intends to sell the data. This site is used by those who visit sex workers to share tips and experiences.

NOS has verified the website’s security breach after a tip by an anonymous source. A reporter posed as a potential buyer, and was given a sample of a thousand email addresses, which they did not pay for. They verified these email addresses by using the “forgot password” function on the website. The data held by the hacker includes email addresses, names, still-protected passwords and IP addresses.

The hacker’s price is 300 US dollars

The hacker is asking 300 US dollars from those who want to buy the data from him. According to NOS, he says that he abused a large data breach in a commonly used forum software. Hooker.nl has confirmed the data breach and will send its members an email about it later today.

Of course, this is sensitive information that could definitely be used to blackmail members of the forum. It’s for this reason that the hacker is so sure he will be able to sell the information: “Certainly people want to buy it, bro”, he says. Some people may be open about the fact that they visit sex workers, but many people on the website have used nicknames, indicating that they do not want their identity known.

Details of sex workers also accessed

Just as worryingly, the email addresses of sex workers and escorts have also been accessed by the hacker, as they too are active on the forum. They may also want to remain anonymous- the people in their surroundings may not know what their job is, for example. Sex workers have already come under fire from the Christian Youth Party, who presented a petition to criminalise sex work to the Dutch lower house last April. However, in other countries where sex work has been criminalised, sex workers have suffered increases in violence, and STI rates have risen. In short, it would be a disaster for women.

The website has stated that “we are not happy about [the data breach]” and that it understands that hookers.nl is a website members definitely don’t want their data accessed from.

Reminiscent of Ashley Madison breach

If all of this sounds familiar, that’s because a similar situation occurred with the adultery website Ashley Madison four years ago. A hacker published the personal data of members of that site and very serious consequences ensued: members were blackmailed, marriages broke down, and even some suicides were reported. However, the hacker feels no remorse for what he has done: “It’s only about three hundred thousand users,” he said to NOS’s undercover reporter. “Tens of thousands of websites are hacked every day. I’m not the devil. It’s not a question of whether your website is hacked, but when.”

What do you think of this hack?  What do you think the websites should be doing to protect the identities of its visitors? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature image: 8013345/Pixabay

Employers and employment agencies may soon have to pay a fine of 4500 euros if they are found to be discriminating against applicants. A study by the Ministry of Social Affairs shows that people with a migration background have a lower chance of being hired. 

This is stated in a bill introduced by the State Secretary of Social Affairs Tamara van Ark. Van Ark wants employers to record in writing the ways they avoided discriminating against potential employees on the basis of background, age or gender. This would apply to both internal and external vacancies.

If the employer cannot provide this, the Ministry of Social Affairs inspection can intervene by giving a warning, and then a fine, if no changes are made. Their misconduct will also be made public, according to NOS.

An applicant with a migration background has a lower chance of being hired

A study commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs shows that employers do still discriminate. For example, applicants with a migration background still have less chance of being invited to an interview than other applicants. Employers discriminate significantly less than in 2015, though.

The study placed 707 CVs of men and women of different backgrounds and ages on the internet, and examined how many calls and emails they generated.

On the positive side, this revealed that there is no discrimination at this stage on the basis of gender or age. This was not the case in 2015, when the survey was last conducted. However, a migration background still has a negative effect on an applicant’s prospects.

Discrimination lessened because of lower labour supply

With companies in the Netherlands complaining that they cannot find highly qualified applicants for advanced roles, discrimination may be reduced.

This situation has already benefitted older people, and seems to also slightly benefit those with a migration background. This sounds good on the surface, but Van Ark is worried that if supply goes up again, so will discrimination.

Employment agencies most at fault

Temporary employment agencies are most often at fault when it comes to discrimination, reports de Volkskrant. According to another study by the Ministry, 40 percent of the discriminatory requests from potential clients are being honoured.

Researchers visited employment agencies and posed as potential customers looking for workers – but they requested people without a migration background. Only one third of agencies said this request was against the law.

Discrimination in the Netherlands

Although the Netherlands has a reputation as a land of tolerance and inclusion, discrimination in the Netherlands is still present, especially during the employment process. A study published last year showed that employers engaged in name discrimination during the selection process. Applicants with non-Dutch sounding names got interviews 9 percent less of the time.

In general, when it comes to things like police checks and micro-aggressions, racism is very much alive and well in the Netherlands. Last year the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights received a record number of discrimination complains from disabled people and pregnant women.

From bill to law

From this week until 4 November, the bill is available online for citizens to examine and give feedback on. Afterwards, it will go to the Council of State for a response, and finally it will be submitted to the House of Representatives.

Have you ever felt discriminated against in the Netherlands? And what do you think of this new fine system? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature image: 089photoshootings/Pixabay

Students have announced that they will be sending Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, a Tikkie for their student debt. 

We’ve all been there. You log on to DUO and see that disgusting large number staring back at you. All that debt. Panic ensues. You question your life choices, your reason for existence. You emotionally eat an entire tub of Ben and Jerry’s, which puts you further in debt.

But what if there was a simple way out?

Like sending a Tikkie to Mark Rutte, for example. 

60,000 students to send a Tikkie to Rutte

Well, now you can. Students who began studying in the academic year 2015-2016 have organised a Facebook event entitled “Massaal Tikkies naar Mark Rutte sturen met onze studieschuld” (or “Send Tikkies en masse to Mark Rutte with our study debt”). By now, well over 60,000 current and former students have shown their support to the Facebook event by clicking “Going” or “Interested”.

What is Tikkie?

If you don’t know what a Tikkie is- first of all, you clearly don’t have Dutch friends. Tikkie is an app commonly used in the Netherlands to share costs. For example, if you go out to dinner with a friend and they pay, they will later send you a “Tikkie” for the amount you owe them. It makes paying people back simpler, and it’s also the perfect example of Dutch efficiency and stinginess coming together.

19.3 billion euros of student debt nationwide

Students who began university in 2015-2016 suffered the worst of the change in student financing- they studied in the period after the basic grant was abolished, and before it was reintroduced. On Monday, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) announced that the total student debt of (former) students this year is 19.3 billion euros. This is 1.9 billion euros more than in 2018.

“Breakdown generation”

Chairman Alex Tess Rutten of the National Student Union (LSVb) called it “irresponsible that we saddled young people with such a debt”, according to Hart van Nederland. She announced on Monday that it is time for the government to abolish the loan system and to compensate for this “breakdown generation”. The new loan system was introduced in the 2015-2016 academic year as a replacement for the basic grant. The average study debt then increased from 12,400 euros (in 2015) to 13,700 euros this year.

Rutte’s response

The VVD has reported that they have already received dozens of Tikkies, mostly for the maximum amount of money the app allows you to request- 750 euros. A spokesperson for the VVD says it is “great to find that students are so involved in their future and make their voices heard in this original way”. It is not yet clear that the VVD itself will respond to the student campaign through policy changes.

What do you think about this hilarious campaign? Will you be sending a Tikkie to Rutte? Let us know in the comments below. 

Feature image: Arno Mikkor/Flickr. 

The Blue Mosque in New-West Amsterdam wants to become the first mosque in Amsterdam to amplify their call to prayer with loudspeakers. This would only apply to the Friday call to prayer. 

On their Facebook page on Tuesday, the Blue Mosque announced that they wanted to amplify their Friday call to prayer. Their reason for doing so is to normalise Islam, and to make it a more visible part of Amsterdam “Amsterdam, the most tolerant city,” is the perfect place to do this for the first time, according to the main Imam at the mosque, Yassin Elforkani.

Twitter, of course, had plenty to say about the development. Stephen de Wijn says that those who don’t live near the mosque should pay attention to what the nearby residents think- which appears to be mainly positive.

Misschien moet iedereen die niet in #Amsterdam (Nieuw-West) of in de buurt van ‘n #moskee woont zijn PVV-gevormde mening voor zich houden. Wellicht vinden de mensen in de buurt het wel lekker; “hé, is het al zo laat? Bijna het #vrijdaggebed gemist”. #blauwemoskee #liveandletlive

— Stephen de Wijn (@Stephen_de_Wijn) October 8, 2019

Whereas Darry Lavid is planning on bringing his organ to Marrakesh to normalise the Dutch culture.

Ik ga volgende week met mijn draaiorgel in een woonwijk van Marrakesh staan om de Nederlandse cultuur te normaliseren. #Islam #blauwemoskee

— Darry Lavid ?? (@DarryLavidNL) October 9, 2019

In the same post, the mosque says that they want to talk to local residents about this decision. The meeting will be this Sunday at 5pm in the mosque. Some people who were asked in the street about this change by AT5 said they would need to get used to it. Others were positive about the change.

Would you say Amsterdam is a tolerant city? Let us know in the comments below.