The downward trend in the European plastics recycling market is concerning. The recession is resulted by lack of demand for recyclates produced in Europe, reduced investments in domestic recycling, and increasing imports of recyclates from outside the EU.

Plastics Recyclers Europe urges to take actions in circular market for plastic waste and recycling within the EU.

Plastics recycling industry is facing difficult market conditions with no interim prospects of recovery.

On top of that, more worries are posed from imports of polymers from outside the EU with questionable claims of recycled content and no effective verification and traceability measures in place.

“This situation undermines the progress and investments made to improve recycling processes. Many recyclers are struggling to survive in a market flooded with uncontrolled imports that fall short of EU requirements,” said Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe.

To respond to this situation, it will be important to restrict market entry for imports that fail to meet the EU’s environmental requirements, as recommended in the report on EU Competitiveness authored by Italian economist Mario Draghi, also a former Italian Prime Minister.

Creating a level playing field will be key to making the green transition sustainable and safeguarding the competitiveness of the EU’s industry in long term. The measures and targets introduced in the core pieces of EU legislation must also be enforced urgently and effectively.

However, given the stalling growth of the industry, achieving these targets is currently unrealistic, as capacities would need to at least double by 2030.

The downward trend in the European plastics recycling market is concerning. The recession is resulted by lack of demand for recyclates produced in Europe, reduced investments in domestic recycling, and increasing imports of recyclates from outside the EU.

Plastics Recyclers Europe urges to take actions in circular market for plastic waste and recycling within the EU.

Plastics recycling industry is facing difficult market conditions with no interim prospects of recovery.

On top of that, more worries are posed from imports of polymers from outside the EU with questionable claims of recycled content and no effective verification and traceability measures in place.

“This situation undermines the progress and investments made to improve recycling processes. Many recyclers are struggling to survive in a market flooded with uncontrolled imports that fall short of EU requirements,” said Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe.

To respond to this situation, it will be important to restrict market entry for imports that fail to meet the EU’s environmental requirements, as recommended in the report on EU Competitiveness authored by Italian economist Mario Draghi, also a former Italian Prime Minister.

Creating a level playing field will be key to making the green transition sustainable and safeguarding the competitiveness of the EU’s industry in long term. The measures and targets introduced in the core pieces of EU legislation must also be enforced urgently and effectively.

However, given the stalling growth of the industry, achieving these targets is currently unrealistic, as capacities would need to at least double by 2030.