European Plastic Recycling Industry in Crisis: Companies Urge EU to Act Against Chinese Products
On Thursday, November 13, several European plastic recycling companies, including French giant Veolia, jointly warned that the European plastic recycling industry is facing a serious crisis. They called on the EU to immediately implement emergency measures to prevent the recycling industry from continuing to shrink under the impact of cheap Chinese new plastic products.
According to AFP, a representative of Veolia stated that Europe keeps making high-target commitments at global climate summits (COP30), but the recycling industry is "being allowed to decline." Over the past three years, about 30 recycling plants across Europe have closed, and recycling capacity has decreased by nearly 1 million tons.
The industry points out that the key to the crisis lies in "insufficient demand." The reason is that China has significantly increased its production of virgin plastic in recent years, causing a sharp drop in the price of new plastic. The market price difference is now clear: new plastic costs about 800 to 900 euros per ton, while recycled plastic costs 1,800 euros, almost twice as much.
Under such competition, European recycling plants find it difficult to maintain operations. Industry representatives point out that over the past five years, the amount of plastic materials imported by Europe from Asia, whether new or recycled, has doubled, with the most intense competition coming from China.
To restore balance in the market, Veolia and the European Association of Plastic Recyclers are calling on the EU to expand the "mandatory recycled content" regulations, not only limited to PET (polyester) beverage bottles, but also extended to more types of plastics, including those used in the automotive industry.
The EU is expected to propose a new resource circular economy legislative package by the end of 2026. However, due to the urgency of the situation, the EU may discuss the first set of response measures as early as December this year.
The current regulation stipulates that PET bottles must contain at least 25% recycled plastic, increasing to 30% four years later. Industry representatives hope the EU will raise the target to 35% by 2027 and promote more industries to be required to use recycled plastic.
If there is no stronger policy support, European recycling industry players are worried that more factories will be forced to close, and the EU's environmental and recycled plastic goals may also be missed.
Sources: rfi
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848717726407687/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.