Page 52 - Plastics News Issue May 2025
P. 52
BUSINESS NEWS
Rigid polyolefins recycling
market hits standstill
imports of both virgin and recycled polymers.
While nearly all EU27+3 countries have imple-
mented separate collection of rigid polyolefin
waste, no notable improvement in collection
rates was observed between 2018 and 2023.
Further, only 42% of collected waste underwent
sorting processes that rendered it suitable for
recycling. The discrepancy between collection
volumes and recycling input can be attributed to
several factors, including incompatibilities with
design-for-recycling principles, exports, and
ast-paced growth of high-density poly- sorting limitations.
ethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP)
Frecycling came to a halt, with capacities Looking to the future, the Packaging and Pack-
plateauing in 2023. This finding is highlighted in aging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets ambitious
the latest report1 released by Plastics Recyclers recycled content targets that would require an
Europe (PRE) in collaboration with ICIS, provid- additional 2 million tonnes of HDPE and PP recy-
ing detailed data on production, collection, and cling capacity by 2030 and a further 5.7 million
recycling for the EU 27+3 region. tonnes by 2040. However, current market con-
ditions— and recycling capacity estimates for
“Key challenges, including insufficient collec- 2024 —raise significant concerns whether these
tion, unregulated imports of plastic materials, targets can be met without decisive political in-
and a lack of enforcement measures, continue tervention.
to hinder the expansion of the recycling indus-
try,” commented Herbert Snell, Chair of the PRE To reverse the downward trend and support
HDPE Working Group. “The plastic recycling in- further growth in EU recycling, PRE emphasises
dustry calls for urgent actions to alleviate the the establishment of a level playing field via ro-
pressure that the current market situation puts bust oversight of imported materials, the adop-
on recyclers and safeguard the achievement of tion of stringent design-for-recycling guidelines,
the European legislative targets.” a substantial increase in collection rates, and the
deployment of advanced sorting technologies.
According to the report, the installed recycling These steps are deemed critical to driving in-
capacities for HDPE in EU27+3 reached 1.7 mil- vestment, securing progress, and ensuring that
lion tonnes and PP reached 1.8 million tonnes in Europe keeps its recycling industrial base while
2023, with an estimated 300 recycling facilities. maintaining its circular economy goals within
These figures indicate stagnation compared to reach.
2022, due to weaker demand amid a global pol- Source – RECYCLING magazine
yolefin oversupply, as well as high inflation, high
energy costs, and competition from lower-cost
52 PLASTICS NEWS May 2025
