The European Union is preparing a new suite of policy measures aimed at protecting its struggling plastics recycling sector, following mounting concerns that cheap plastic imports are driving plant closures and eroding recycling capacity across the bloc, according to the Financial Times.
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Industry officials and several EU member states have raised alarm as an estimated one million tonnes of recycling capacity has disappeared over the past 18 months—a volume equivalent to the entire annual output of a major EU economy such as France. The Netherlands has been among the hardest hit, with at least 10 recycling facilities shutting down during this period, the report noted.
At the heart of the concern raised by the EU’s environment commissioner is the growing inflow of imported plastics that are either significantly cheaper than locally recycled materials or mislabelled as recycled when they are, in fact, new “virgin” plastics. These imports have undercut European recyclers on both price and demand, undermining the economic viability of recycling operations and weakening the bloc’s circular economy ambitions.
“There is an overflow of plastic coming in from third countries,” Jessika Roswall, EU environment commissioner said.
In response, the European Commission is expected to propose a comprehensive set of policy interventions in 2026 aimed at levelling the playing field and reinforcing the EU’s circular economy objectives. The measures under consideration include enhanced verification of plastic imports, the introduction of new customs codes to clearly distinguish recycled plastics from virgin materials, and improvements to the EU single market for recyclates to facilitate cross-border trade.
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The Commission is also looking to provide clearer regulatory support for chemical recycling, while making use of trade defence instruments where necessary to address unfair competition. Together, these steps are intended to stabilise the recycling sector, boost demand for recycled materials, and ensure that environmental standards are consistently applied across both domestic and imported plastics.
The move reflects growing recognition in Brussels that without stronger safeguards, Europe risks losing critical recycling infrastructure at a time when circular economy targets and mandatory recycled content requirements are becoming increasingly central to EU climate and industrial policy.
“Brussels said there was a risk of “carbon leakage” as competitors overseas do not have to pay for emissions, which cost more than €80 a tonne in the EU.”
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Source – EU moves against cheap plastics imports as recycling plants shut
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