The European Union’s plastic recycling business is at a breaking level, in accordance with a 19 March assertion from Plastic Recyclers Europe, which represents plastic reprocessors and recyclers within the area.
A pointy decline in home manufacturing, elevated imports, and rising financial pressures are forcing firm closures. The business has lengthy warned of those dangers, and immediately they’re unfolding with extreme penalties throughout the complete worth chain, says the group.
“Now more than ever, decisive action is essential,” stated Ton Emans, President at Plastics Recyclers Europe. “We urge EU policymakers to take a fast and strong political stance, introducing effective import controls and enforcing existing legislation, including the restriction of importing materials which do not meet equivalent EU sustainability and safety standards. These measures are crucial for the plastic recycling industry’s survival, which has already invested 5 billion euros between 2020 and 2023 just to meet mandatory targets.”
Apart from the important market tendencies, European recyclers are grappling with excessive power prices and hovering enter waste prices, which have elevated operational bills over the previous few years. In the meantime, they’re being undercut by cheaper imported supplies, which regularly include fraudulent claims because of the lack of transparency within the origin of supplies.
In the present day, imports of each recycled and virgin polymers account for over 20% of EU polymer consumption, whereas home recycling manufacturing has declined by 5% for many polymers. Alarmingly, EU plastic manufacturing is projected to regress to ranges final seen within the 12 months 2000, whilst polymer consumption continues to develop.
On the similar time, plastic waste exports from the EU surged by a staggering 36% in 2024 in comparison with 2022, highlighting an alarming shift away from in-region recycling efforts. These tendencies have resulted within the slowest plastic recycling capability development recorded in years1paired with the rising closure of recycling services. The whole capability of services that shut down in 2024 doubled in comparison with 2023, and the state of affairs is intensifying in 2025, impacting each small and huge firms alike.1
The destructive market tendencies have been detrimental to the business, resulting in a decline in recycling charges, hindered adoption of round practices and elevated reliance on unsustainable manufacturing strategies. Consequently, the EU’s recycling and sustainability targets for 2025 are falling brief.
With out recognising plastic recycling as a strategic sector and successfully using the commerce defence measures to safeguard European manufacturing towards additional distortions, the EU’s business will proceed to erode, undermining the bloc’s dedication to a round plastics financial system, useful resource independence and inexperienced jobs.
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