For a society accustomed to the achievements of a linear economy, the transition to a circular economic system is a hard task even to contemplate. Although the changes needed may seem daunting, it is important to remember that we have already come a long way. However, the history of the waste hierarchy has taught that […]
Author: Ad Lansink
Ad Lansink, born 1934, studied Physical Chemistry and History of Science at the State University Utrecht from 1952-1959 before earning a PhD from the Catholic University of Nijmegen. Thereafter, he was Senior Biochemist at the Department of Pathology of The Radboud University Hospital.
It was as a member of the Nijmegen Town Council that he first became interested in politics, and in 1977 he became an MP in the Dutch Second Chamber for the CDA. In 1979 he proposed a motion containing the first instance of the waste hierarchy, which subsequently became internationally known as Lansink’s Ladder.
He still publishes articles in Recycling Magazine Benelux and on environmental blog Isonomia. Writing alongside Hannet de Vries – in ’t Veld he published De Kracht van de Kringloop: a book about the history and future of Lansink’s Ladder. At present, an English edition of the book is being prepared which will deal especially with the relation between the waste hierarchy and the concept of a circular economy.