Rigid Polyolefins Recycling Market Hits Standstill

Fast-paced growth of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) recycling came to a halt, with capacities plateauing in 2023. This finding is highlighted in the latest report¹ released by Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) in collaboration with ICIS, providing detailed data on production, collection, and recycling for the EU 27+3 region. ​

“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,” commented Herbert Snell, Chair of the PRE HDPE Working Group. “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.”

According to the report, the installed recycling capacities for HDPE in EU27+3 reached 1.7 million tonnes and PP reached 1.8 million tonnes in 2023, with an estimated 300 recycling facilities. These figures indicate stagnation compared to 2022, due to weaker demand amid a global polyolefin oversupply, as well as high inflation, high energy costs, and competition from lower-cost imports of both virgin and recycled polymers.

While nearly all EU27+3 countries have implemented 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 sorting limitations.

Looking to the future, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) sets ambitious recycled content targets that would require an additional 2 million tonnes of HDPE and PP recycling capacity by 2030 and a further 5.7 million tonnes by 2040. However, current market conditions— and recycling capacity estimates for 2024 —raise significant concerns whether these targets can be met without decisive political intervention.

To reverse the downward trend and support further growth in EU recycling, PRE emphasises the establishment of a level playing field via robust oversight of imported materials, the adoption of stringent design-for-recycling guidelines, a substantial increase in collection rates, and the deployment of advanced sorting technologies. These steps are deemed critical to driving investment, securing progress, and ensuring that Europe keeps its recycling industrial base while maintaining its circular economy goals within reach.

¹ HDPE & PP Market in Europe: State of Play 2023

^{ABOUT PLASTICS RECYCLERS EUROPE} 

^{Plastics Recyclers Europe is an organisation representing the voice of the European plastics recyclers who reprocess plastic waste into high-quality material destined for the production of new articles. Recyclers are important facilitators of the circularity of plastics and the transition towards the circular economy.}  

^{Plastics recycling in Europe is a rapidly growing sector representing over €9.1 billion in turnover, 13.2 million tonnes of installed recycling capacity, around 850 recycling facilities, and over 30.000 employees.} 

^{Contact: communication@plasticsrecyclers.eu; www.plasticsrecyclers.eu}