BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP “PROGRESS IN PLASTICS RECYCLING IN EUROPE BUT BEWARE OF IMPORTS”

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) carried out an analysis of plastics streams at European level.

In recent years, Europe has made significant progress in plastic recycling: currently, 13.5% of new plastic products and components are made from recycled materials, an increase of 37% compared to four years ago.

By 2030, 25% of European demand for plastics is expected to be met by recycled materials, with a further increase to 65% by 2050. This change could reduce plastic-related greenhouse gas emissions by 28% by 2030.

Energy recovery still accounts for 50% of post-consumer plastic waste treatment, with a 15% increase in the last four years, followed by recycling (27%) and landfilling (24%). Furthermore, half of the plastics collected for recycling are exported outside the EU, missing the opportunity to turn them into new resources within the European economy.

The European market for recycled plastics suffered a major destabilisation in 2023, with prices decreasing by more than 50% due to the increase of low-cost recycled plastic imports from non-EU countries (China, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Egypt and Vietnam), which do not follow the same circularity policies and use materials that do not comply with European standards, as, reached EUR 39.4 billion, an increase of 40% in the last three years.

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