Page 47 - Plastics News January 2026
P. 47
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
CIRCULARITY FOR PLASTICS: THE EUROPEAN
COMMISSION’S NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
he European Commission has raised con- “Each material stream faces specific barriers that
cerns over the slow progress of plastics must be addressed through tailored measures,”
Trecycling in the European Union, warning the Commission said, calling for coordinated ac-
that current trends could jeopardize the bloc’s tion at local, national, and EU levels to unlock the
circular economy and competitiveness ambi- full potential of the circular economy.
tions.
Despite the challenges, the Commission esti-
According to the Commission, of the roughly 58 mates that, if effective circular solutions are im-
million tonnes of plastic produced annually in plemented, the plastics value chain could cut
the EU, only about 50 percent is collected and emissions by around 80 million tonnes of CO
2
sorted, while just 13 percent is recycled back equivalent and improve the EU’s trade balance
into new plastic products. Between 2010 and by €18 billion annually by 2050.
2024, the share of recycled materials used in the
EU economy increased by a mere 1.5 percent, Tackling Market Fragmentation
leaving Europe significantly behind its target of In the short term, the Commission is rolling out
achieving a 24 percent circularity rate by 2030. targeted measures to remove key barriers across
the plastics market. Industry estimates suggest
While the EU’s installed plastics recycling capac-
ity reached 13.2 million tonnes in 2023, growth that the absence of EU-wide end-of-waste crite-
has slowed sharply. Capacity expansion declined ria for plastics currently costs the sector about
by 4 percent compared to the previous year, €120 million per year, or roughly €260,000 per
prompting Commission concerns that the sector recycler.
could see a net loss of around one million tonnes To address this, the Commission will introduce
of recycling capacity by the end of 2025. an implementing act under the Waste Frame-
work Directive establishing end-of-waste crite-
The Commission noted that recyclers continue
to face structural challenges, including high en- ria for mechanically recycled plastics. Once in
ergy costs, volatile and often low virgin plastic force, such materials will no longer be classi-
prices, and competition from cheap imports. It fied as waste, enabling free movement across
alleged that some imported materials marketed Member States and supporting the creation of
as recycled plastics are, in reality, virgin plastics, a single market for recycled plastics. The move
further undermining European recyclers. As a re- is expected to reduce administrative burdens—
sult, doubts are growing over whether flagship particularly for small and medium-sized enter-
initiatives such as the Competitiveness Com- prises—and ensure a more stable supply of high-
pass, the Clean Industrial Deal, and RESourceEU quality recyclates.
will meet their objectives. At the same time, the Commission plans to intro-
January 2026 PLASTICS NEWS 47
