PRE warns European plastic recycling industry facing ‘imminent collapse’

Plastics Recyclers Europe, a Brussels-based organization comprised of more than 200 companies, says a wave of plastic recycling facility closures has hit Europe.

More bluntly, the organization says in a news release that the European plastic recycling industry is facing “imminent collapse.”

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The organization cites a surge in low-cost imports of recycled plastics, the consequent decrease in the demand for EU-made recycled content, mounting economic pressures and “excessive red tape” are driving an increasing number of EU recyclers out of business.

“This is leading to a decrease in production and recycling capacity, compromising the survival of this strategic sector,” PRE writes.

By the end of this year, the organization claims the territory is expected to have lost recycling facilities amounting to nearly 1 million tons of capacity since 2023, adding that between January and July of this year, almost the same amount of capacity was lost as in the entirety of 2024—and three times more than in 2023.

PRE says forecasts for this year indicate zero net growth after “years of rapid expansion, which signals a critical decline in momentum in the transition to a circular economy,” with the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom being the most affected by the downward trend.

“These figures are proof of the damaging effects of the recession on the European plastics recycling sector,” PRE says. “To revive demand for EU recyclates and prevent further closures, policymakers must urgently implement trade and market defense mechanisms, ensure consistent EPR rules and strictly enforce third-party certification and harmonized penalties for noncompliant materials.”

The organization adds that this must be paired with measures that alleviate economic pressures for recyclers, such as access to inexpensive clean energy and a reduction in red tape to obtain and renew permits. PRE says strengthening customs controls and including targeted incentives for investment also are important to restoring the sector’s competitiveness.

“The time to act is now,” PRE writes. “The collapse of the European plastics recycling sector would cause irreversible damage to the environmental progress and innovation achieved over the past decade, jeopardizing the achievement of the EU’s climate goals and its long-term competitiveness.”