“We need to be willing to make choices and also make their consequences explicit.”

For our newsletter, we speak with stakeholders within OR ELSE about their involvement in the project, sustainable sand extraction, and their questions for our research team. This time: Leonie van der Voort, director of Cascade, the industry association for sand and gravel producers and other surface mineral extraction companies in the Netherlands.

What is your role within Cascade?

I am the director of Cascade. It is an industry association of surface mineral extractors. There are three people working there. It is not only about sand, but also gravel, clay, limestone sand, and “zilverzand” (silica sand). Many people think sand is just sand, but that is not true. There are different fractions with different applications. Sea sand, for example, is salty and therefore less suitable for concrete, or it has to be washed first. With the very fine grains you cannot make concrete, etc.

We have eighteen members, but together they represent about 90% of construction raw material extraction in the Netherlands. They are mainly large family businesses that have been active in this sector for a long time, for whom long-term certainty is important.

Why are policy and long-term certainty so important for these companies?

Because we are now seeing a problem emerging. The Netherlands has enough sand and gravel in the ground, but the permits to extract them are expiring. At the same time, there has long been the idea that due to the circular economy (reuse), we would no longer need primary raw materials.

In reality, demand for raw materials remains high. We are building much more than we are demolishing, and we also need to strengthen dikes and build new infrastructure. Even if we reused all demolition material, we could probably only cover about 10% of demand.

So expectations around circularity have been too optimistic?

Yes. Circularity is important and we also support it, but it cannot replace the demand for primary raw materials. Yet policy has long been strongly focused on that idea.

At the same time, permits are expiring, while new permits often take about fifteen years to obtain. That is because these are complex projects, involving many studies on nature, archaeology, and nitrogen emissions, and because objection procedures often follow. It can sometimes be shorter, but often it still takes 7–10 years.

Yet you do not see nature protection as a barrier. You often speak about sustainability and how sand extraction and nature restoration can go hand in hand. Can you explain that?

Yes, many sand extraction projects ultimately result in new nature areas. For example, we take agricultural land out of production and develop it into wetland nature areas with islands and shores that are beneficial for biodiversity. We often collaborate with organisations such as Natuurmonumenten, Staatsbosbeheer, or environmental federations. After completion, they often take over the management of the area. So we also contribute to nature development and river widening.

How is the sector itself becoming more sustainable?

Companies are investing heavily in electrification and sustainability. Machines are becoming electric, solar panels are being installed, and ways to reduce energy use are being explored.

In addition, we try to design projects so that they also have societal value, for example by combining nature development or water management with sand extraction.

Where do you see the biggest bottleneck for the future?

The biggest problem lies in permitting. The raw materials are there, but without permits they cannot be extracted. As a result, the Netherlands is becoming increasingly dependent on imports, for example granite from Norway or Scotland.

This means more transport, higher CO₂ emissions, and greater dependence on other countries. Moreover, transport is becoming more difficult due to low water levels in rivers.

So the problem is not the availability of raw materials, but the organisation of it?

Exactly. It is about planning and governance. We should better assess how many primary raw materials we need, how much we can obtain from recycling, and how much we therefore still need to extract. That requires long-term planning.

At the moment, that is still insufficient. Many policy processes are siloed: different ministries and policy fields focus on their own part, while the issues are interconnected.

What do you think is needed to improve this?

We need to be willing to make choices and explicitly acknowledge their consequences. If you decide, for example, to stop sand extraction altogether, you must accept that we will be able to build less or will need to import raw materials from far away with all the negative impacts that come with that. That is why integrated decision-making is important. Otherwise, you don’t really know what you are choosing.

What role can the government play in this?

I think there is a need for more central coordination from the national government again. At the moment, much responsibility lies with municipalities, but they mainly look at their own local interests. Changes in their area are often not welcomed.

However, raw material extraction is a national interest. Just like a port or airport is not only for one city, construction materials are needed for the whole country (these materials are only present in the subsurface of three provinces).

What is important for policy in the future, in your view?

Clarity, long-term planning, and decisive authority at higher levels of government. Companies need to know where they stand before investing in new ships or technologies. In addition, we must leave room for innovation. Technology and energy supply are changing rapidly, so policy needs to remain flexible enough to respond.

For companies, time is also very important. Due to all the additional studies and procedures, that time is becoming increasingly scarce. Companies need time to adjust their course. If you build a new vessel, for example, you think in terms of thirty-year timeframes. Policymakers often think in four-year cycles, but for companies that is almost yesterday. So involve the business sector and allow space to experiment with innovation.