Europe’s plastics recycling sector is in turmoil. As a result of cheap virgin resin imports, falling demand, and perceived weak enforcement, the industry stands at a crossroads. In this article, Edward Kosior, CEO and Founder of Nextek Ltd, argues that failure to address these issues could lead to environmental disaster.
This year’s PRSE was a particularly hard-hitting event given the current significant challenges in the sector, something which Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe, clearly emphasised during his address. Only a couple of months on from the Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) entering into force (11 February to be precise), the plastics recycling sector has hit a wall.
Instead of delivering a circular economy for plastics the recycling industry is facing mounting challenges from low virgin resin prices in China and low-cost recycled materials being imported into Europe through to reduced uptake of European recycled plastics. This is further exacerbated by a total lack of action by European politicians in levying penalties for non-compliance of regulations.
We are left wondering the point of these regulations if there is no follow-through. Whilst the European Commission focuses on developing some 50 secondary legislative acts to detail the implementation of the PPWR, end-of-life plastics are being exported to other countries for local processing and recycled plastics are being imported from overseas sources.
Risks and consequences
The consequences of Europe halting recycling and resorting to importing new plastics are dire. The likes of escalating emissions due to the loss of circular economy benefits and reverting back to the linear system of take-make-dispose would be environmentally and economically disastrous.
The growing trend towards the ‘paperfication’ of packaging, as retailers shift to plastic alternatives such as paper and aluminium, may be perceived to be more “environmentally friendly” by consumers, yet in many instances these alternatives have a higher carbon footprint and risk complicating the recycling stream.
The implications of staying on the current pathway to plastics production of 800 Mtpa by 2040 (with 75% coming from China and SE Asia) and importing recycled plastics into the European market is, that current European end-of-life plastics would have no pathway to recycling and would either be burnt, landfilled or exported.
Moreover, the scale of infrastructure progress required to meet PPWR targets cannot be underestimated. According to an AMI presentation at Greenplast in Milan last month, delivered by Martyna Fong, Director of Market Intelligence, 4.2 million tonnes of additional sorting capacity must be developed, demanding more than €2.1 billion in capital expenditure. Mechanical recycling must double too, expanding by an additional 4.3 million tonnes, requiring around €5 billion of investment.
Chemical recycling, which was initially expected to bridge part of the gap, is progressing at a far slower rate than projected – now anticipated to achieve less than 50% of original capacity announcements and highly challenged to reach the 3 million tonnes target by 2030.
Meanwhile, demand for recycled plastics is shifting strongly towards rigid plastics, which alone are forecasted to require approximately 3.5 million tonnes of recycled input material by 2030.
The recycling sector is at a perilous crossroad. Ground-breaking progress has been achieved over the last few years, from improved collection and cutting-edge sorting amplified by AI’s potential, to innovative technologies emerging globally to recycle post-consumer plastic packaging back to high-value and food-grade resins.
Paradigm shift to boost European Recycling
We are in fact on the verge of a paradigm shift in the European recycling industry, but this will only occur if the European Commission becomes pro-active.
Right now. there is no real sense of urgency in accelerating the positive directions that have emerged at EU level. It has certainly been said before but must be reiterated, we need the playing field for recyclers to be levelled.
This starts with banning the export of plastics to ensure end-of-life plastics are recycled locally. Imported plastics must reach the same high standards expected from local recyclers both technically and with equivalent, appropriate environmental controls required in Europe. This would result in uniform EU landfill levies to incentivise recycling over landfilling.
Equally crucially we need to see a major shift in the EU Commission’s mindset from the current advisory approach to full, hands-on action. This means going beyond setting targets to actively supporting investment in the infrastructure required for the plastics recycling industry and the EU Commission to achieve its Clean Industrial Deal (CID) goals.
Another area in need of urgent attention is the pace of approval for novel technologies for food-grade recycled polyolefins which is a big gap in circularity ambitions and in great contrast to the regulatory approach used in USA where there are many approved technologies for food-grade recycled polyolefins.
What the sector needs is proactive and increased support with funding to develop novel technology recycling facilities through to fast-tracking the approval process to ensure the circularity of food-contact polypropylene (PP) packaging.
Indeed, if Europe is to meet the demanding PPWR targets, technology will play a pivotal role – particularly for polypropylene (PP), one of the least recycled yet widely used plastics. For circularity to be achieved, food-grade qualification must be a priority, alongside proven assurance and experience to demonstrate PP’s safety and suitability for critical applications.
Our focus has therefore been on making the technology for food-grade rPP both stable and reliable, while also addressing the economic feasibility required to scale these solutions. We have been advancing all of these factors in parallel, with the goal of enabling commercial viability and broad market adoption.
FGrPP - Catalyst from transformation
Addressing the recyclability of all plastics – particularly food-grade PP – offers the best business case for expanding infrastructure and local recycling capacity. Food-grade PP, which has become as popular a packaging material as PET, yet is only recycled at a fraction of PET’s recycling rate, has the potential to be one of the most powerful catalysts for transforming the economic fate of plastics.
This is particularly so in the USA for post-consumer food-contact rigid and flexible PP packaging where only 8% of the 1.2 million tons of post-consumer PP that goes onto the market annually is recycled, as such there is an unparalleled opportunity to put this material back into the circular pathway.
PP is a major packaging material – in the UK it represents two-thirds of the consumer packaging per weight and given that bottles are heavier than the PP pots, tubs and trays (PTTs) this means their volume is greater. As such it should not be ignored. It is eminently recyclable and has numerous applications.
Having said that turning post-consumer PP packaging back into quality resins comes with its own set of challenges. Recycling this material to food-grade compliance standards is a demanding process that requires technically sophisticated equipment and a new approach in order to make high-quality food-grade rPP. This is in fact one of the key areas where government funding could have the most impact.
Developing proven, science-based processes to recycle post-consumer food-contact packaging back into rPP resins that are safe to turn back into food-grade rPP packaging was one of the fundamental pieces of the recycling conundrum.
Breakthroughs to simplify recycling
Following 5 years of trials we can now confidently say there have been many important advances that are poised to accelerate the production of high-quality FGrPP.
One such breakthrough is our capacity to give moulders and convertors the knowledge and skills to process rPP as a drop-in replacement to avoid expensive tooling changes and avoid changing set-up conditions.
AI sorting is another breakthrough given that it removes the need for any additional markers or labelling to enhance the sorting process.
The next steps
Now that we have the capability to introduce high-value materials to replace virgin PP it is imperative the approval process is accelerated. Certainly, we need to have in place the due diligence, however we need to fast-track bureaucratic processes and turn recycled PP and polyolefins into commercial reality.
It is vital to remember that the ambitious targets of PPWR will not be achieved through regulation alone – they will only be realised through technology and investment. Scaling up proven solutions for food-grade PP, alongside addressing the broader capacity gaps in sorting and mechanical recycling, must be prioritised urgently. Without this, Europe’s recycling ambitions risk falling short, with chemical recycling unable to compensate at the pace once hoped for.
We must heed Plastics Recyclers Europe’s and Ton Emans’ warnings – the plastics sector requires urgent support. The European Commission can no longer afford to sit back and watch, the industry needs financial support to enhance recycling capabilities, innovation should be encouraged and barriers should be reduced. Above all we need dynamic action in the shape of bold and far-reaching commitments and frameworks to support Europe’s transition to a plastics’ circular economy.
The hard work has been done, now we need to drive the infrastructure forward to ensure that a vibrant and innovative recycling sector plays an active role in developing the circular economy that is just emerging.
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