Finally, the chapter examines the efforts to date to promote the circular economy and the challenges that lie ahead. The first National Waste Management Plan (NWMP) (Landelijk Afualbeheer Plan, LAP), which covered the period 2003-09, set targets to be achieved by 2012. It was subsequently updated by the second NWMP of 2009, which covers the period from late 2009 to 2015 and sets targets for 2015 and 2021. These plans built on policies put in place in the 1990s to reduce landfilling and improve recycling and recovery.