PRE 01.08.24

Entries for the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe 2025 are now open - earlier than usual - with participants from every part of the plastics recycling chain in Europe invited to enter.

The winners are due to be revealed at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe in April. The Plastics Recycling Awards Europe is organised jointly by Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) and Crain Communications, organizers of PRS Europe. To qualify for an award, entries must meet a number of criteria, including that products and innovations must be designed, developed or manufactured in Europe; must contain a minimum of 50% recycled content; and all entries must promote sustainability and a circular economy.

The seven award categories cover various areas of plastics recycling and market applications for the circular use of plastics. They are: Plastics Recycling Ambassador; Automotive, Electrical or Electronic Product; Building & Construction Product; Household & Leisure Product; Plastic Packaging Product; Product Technology Innovation; and Recycling Machinery Innovation. 

Brand owners, retailers, product manufacturers, product designers, packaging producers, raw material suppliers, plastics recycling machine manufacturers and suppliers of recycled plastic products can submit their projects until Friday 18th October 2024. Award winners will be announced on the second day of the Plastics Recycling Show Europe, taking place at the RAI in Amsterdam from 1 to 2 April 2025. 

Last year’s award winners included Plastics Recycling Ambassadors: Erica Canaia, CEO of FIMIC and Vicente Olmos Jorge, CEO and founder of SINTAC Recycling; Building & Construction Product, RPS Skimmer by Fluidra; Household & Leisure Product, Blue Finn Chair by Bywyd B.V.; and Recycling Machinery Innovation, DischargePro Technology by Powerfil - EREMA Group

“The quality and number of entries we receive for the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe have increased exponentially since the first awards in 2017, reflecting the outstanding progress in the circular use of plastics in Europe,” said Ton Emans, PRE president. “The 2025 awards are designed to inspire all parts of our industry towards greater use of recycled plastics and raise the bar of innovation even higher to meet Europe’s mandated recycling targets.” 

PRE announced its new manifesto at the end of 2023, encouraging the EU to drive competitiveness and innovation for plastics, listing science-based policies, traceable imports, and realistic targets amongst its recommended points of priority. The manifesto also states that steps should also be taken to overcome greenwashing and prevent the use of unverified recycled plastics from non-EU countries in pursuit of EU targets. 

In January, it warned that Europe could miss legislative recycling targets due to low plastic recyclate demand, claiming that the total European installed plastics recycling capacity saw a 7% decline in growth rate year-on-year and reached 12.5 million tonnes in 2022. The decrease in growth rate from 17% to 10% year-on-year is attributed to heavy market disruptions faced by the European market since 2020. 

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