Published on Wednesday, the “Null Offall Lëtzebuerg” strategy is founded on circular economy principles, transforming waste into resources or preventing it from the outset.

“One of the main pillars of this strategy is waste prevention, promoting above all measures that prolong the first job and encourage reuse, right from the design phase, but also from preparation for reuse,” the environment ministry wrote in a summary. “The measures will ultimately lead to the complete elimination of municipal waste landfill by the year 2030.”

Among the specific goals will be zero littering in public and natural places, through increased fines, awareness raising and the banning of certain plastic.

There will be information campaign to remind consumers of the value of food and there is a project to recover nutrients from biowaste.

New initiatives will be introduced to support programmes that promote better use of products, for instance products as a service. Repair and reconditioning services will also receive a boost as will recycling centres, which will be encouraged to convert waste for the secondhand market.

Companies will be encouraged to reduce overpackaging, for instance by banning the sale of certain pre-packaged fruit and vegetables, while designers will be encouraged to devise packaging that can be recycled or reused. Recycling collection banks will meanwhile be brought closer to citizens.

The last pillar focuses on construction and comprises measures to promote material and component recovery at the end of a building’s life, through regulations, and by organising training on modular construction. In turn, the document outlines measures to reduce the amount of digging required in a construction project, to extend the usefulness of buildings and create a market for deconstructed building materials.