The municipality of Leeuwarden has embraced the circular economy as a core element of its broader sustainability ambitions, recognising its role in resource efficiency, economic resilience, and environmental protection. With a mission to recover and reuse raw materials, position the city as a hub for circular business, and expand circular projects to drive employment, the municipality is committed to a future without waste.

The municipality's approach to a circular economy is emblematic of the broader region’s ‘Frisian Approach’. The municipality harnessed collaboration with businesses and knowledge institutions, in what is known as ‘the triple helix’, acknowledging the necessity of collective change at multiple levels.It effectively combines both bottom-up and top-down methods to advance the circular economy, ensuring a well-rounded and inclusive strategy. 

The municipality’s approach aligns with national and regional goals, ensuring that circular economy principles are embedded in governance, infrastructure, and industry partnerships.

History

Leeuwarden’s focus on circular economy initiatives has developed through both top-down policy ambitions and bottom-up efforts from the community and businesses. Early initiatives date back to the 2018 Volhoudbaar program, but the circular economy became a municipal priority in 2022, elevating it to a strategic level.

Key catalysts for this transition reflect this top-down/bottom-up dynamic. On one hand, declining household waste recycling rates prompted new municipal strategies such as DIFTAR for collection and processing. On the other, momentum emerged through regional collaboration in circular construction—particularly within Het Nieuwe Normaal, a sustainable building program—allowing the municipality to facilitate and expand circular construction in Leeuwarden.

Through active participation in regional and national programs, Leeuwarden has leveraged its position to both implement and influence circular policy development, strongly contributing to the region's position as a frontrunner.

Aim, Structure, and Governance

Larger sustainability goals are framed within the 'Duurzaamheidsprogramma Volhoudbaar,' a program encompassing sustainable energy, climate adaptation, biodiversity, ecology, and sustainable municipal operations. Within this framework, Leeuwarden integrates circularity into procurement, waste management, and infrastructure development, setting ambitious milestones such as achieving a waste-free society by 2050 and fully circular procurement by 2025. Larger sustainability goals are framed within the 'Duurzaamheidsprogramma Volhoudbaar,' a program encompassing sustainable energy, climate adaptation, biodiversity, ecology, and sustainable municipal operations. Within this framework, Leeuwarden integrates circularity into procurement, waste management, and infrastructure development, setting ambitious milestones such as achieving a waste-free society by 2050 and fully circular procurement by 2025. To guide decision-making and prioritise high-impact actions, the municipality applies the Circular Processing Ladder (R-ladder), focusing first on reduction and reuse before resorting to recycling or recovery.

The municipality’s circular economy vision is structured around four key ambitions, namely, establishing Leeuwarden as a prime location for circular businesses, expanding circular projects to boost employment, ensuring circular procurement practices are embedded across municipal operations, achieving a waste-free society by 2050, with interim targets such as reducing residual waste to 30kg per person per year by 2030.

To meet these ambitions, the municipality engages in strategic collaborations, leveraging funding mechanisms like the Circular Innovation Fund (€250,000 annually) and working with regional partners to implement solutions in material recovery, circular construction, and sustainable procurement.

Key Projects and Initiatives

Several initiatives showcase Leeuwarden’s commitment to circularity, and demonstrate the city’s unique and effective approach to implementing circularity across the board. A project working to close the concrete chain in Leeuwarden perfectly demonstrates this, as an initiative where the municipality and actors along the concrete value chain collaborate to increase the use of circular concrete in municipality-led construction projects. This initiative demonstrates the need to include all actors in the transition, utilise local knowledge, and foster collective learning.

Other top-down initiatives underscore the municipality’s role as a government actor and policymaker. For example, the circular purchasing roadmap incentivises the use of secondary (circular) materials in municipal projects, helping to create a level financial playing field between virgin and recycled materials. Similarly, the Circular Innovation Fund provides annual financial support for circular economy innovations, supporting both scale-ups and established businesses. These initiatives recognise that financial backing from political institutions is essential for advancing the circular transition. By embedding circularity into economic policies, Leeuwarden ensures that all major municipal investments prioritise material efficiency and sustainability.

To delve deeper into Gemeente Leeuwarden’s projects and initiatives read the case studies below:

De Grondbank

Leeuwarden’s permanent soil bank ensures 100% circular soil flows by locally storing, assessing, and reusing soil from urban and regional development projects. By reducing transport movements and repurposing soil into valuable materials, the initiative enhances circularity and minimizes soil toxicity, supporting a more sustainable and efficient land management system.

Verbouw Carré 1

The Carré 1 municipal office renovation integrates circular principles by reusing existing materials and sourcing new ones sustainably to minimize its material footprint. By showcasing circular choices in building design, the project advances the circularity metric while inspiring broader adoption of resource-efficient construction practices.

Circulaire Afschrijven

Circulaire Afschrijven, a partnership between the Municipality of Leeuwarden and Alba Concepts, enhances circular investments by using data-driven insights to determine their residual value, ensuring long-term financial and environmental benefits. By refining valuation methods and integrating circular principles into investment strategies, it strengthens sustainable business practices and boosts the competitiveness of the circular economy.

Sluiten betonketen (Heechterp)

Leeuwarden's first circular concrete chain transforms demolition waste into new homes, cutting CO₂ emissions and conserving raw materials through an innovative closed-loop system. By maximizing material recovery and reuse, the project contributes to increasing the circularity metric, demonstrating a measurable shift from linear construction to a circular model.

Project Nieuw Oud Oost

Project Nieuw Oud Oost transforms the former Cambuur stadium site into a resource-efficient neighborhood, integrating circular principles in construction to reduce waste and conserve materials. By repurposing second-hand materials and fostering community engagement through placemaking, the initiative enhances the circularity metric, creates circular jobs, and strengthens local social cohesion.

Regional Significance and Uniqueness

Leeuwarden’s approach to circularity is both ambitious and pragmatic. As a frontrunner in the circular economy, the city serves as a model for other municipalities by balancing long-term vision with practical implementation, ensuring circularity is securely embedded in policy and business practices. It strategically leverages Friesland’s existing strengths in circular waste management and biobased industries to expand circular opportunities. In line with the Frisian Approach, the municipality prioritises collaboration and trust, uniting stakeholders from different sectors to develop shared solutions.

Unlike other regions that focus primarily on policy-setting, Leeuwarden combines governance with hands-on initiatives that directly engage local businesses, industries, and citizens.

Outcomes and Impact

The municipality has already demonstrated tangible progress in advancing circular economy initiatives. Waste reduction efforts have been strengthened through the introduction of new waste collection models, leading to lower household residual waste rates. In procurement, at least ten municipal projects each year now adhere to circular purchasing criteria, embedding sustainability into public spending. Circular principles are also being integrated into construction, influencing demolition, renovation, and new building projects. Public-private engagement has played a crucial role in fostering strong collaborations with businesses, resulting in the development of new circular supply chains and economic opportunities. To ensure continued progress, ongoing monitoring efforts prioritise impact measurement, with key performance indicators tracking material recovery rates, employment impacts, and economic contributions. 

Gemeente Leeuwarden actively leverages partnerships at the provincial and national levels, such as collaborations with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W), to drive systemic change. By prioritising dialogue between stakeholders and maintaining adaptable policies, the municipality ensures that its circular economy initiatives remain responsive to emerging innovations.

Conclusion

Through a combination of strategic governance, strong partnerships, and practical implementation, Leeuwarden is well-positioned to continue its leadership in the circular economy transition. As elections and policy shifts approach, maintaining momentum and ensuring long-term continuity will be critical for sustaining these ambitious efforts.