Europe’s capacity to recycle certain plastics has “stagnated”, according to a new report.
Plastics Recyclers Europe found that the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway had 300 facilities for reprocessing high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) in 2023.
This left the area with installed capacities to recycle 1.7m tonnes of HDPE and 1.8m tonnes of PP that year – broadly the same level as the 12 previous months – said the study.
Global oversupply of the polyolefin polymer together with high costs and competition from imports had subdued the sector, according to the report.
“Key challenges, including insufficient collection, unregulated imports of plastic materials and a lack of enforcement measures, continue to hinder the expansion of the recycling industry,” said chair of Plastics Recyclers Europe’s HDPE Working Group Herbert Snell.
“The plastic recycling industry calls for urgent actions to alleviate the pressure that the current market situation puts on recyclers and safeguard the achievement of the European legislative targets.”
Plastics Recyclers Europe said the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation set “ambitious” recycled-content targets that required an additional 2m tonnes of HDPE and PP recycling capacity by 2030.
The body called for “robust oversight” of imported materials; adoption of “stringent” design-for-recycling guidelines; a “substantial” increase in collection rates; and deployment of “advanced” sorting technologies.
