Europe’s Circular Plastics Transition Stalls Amid Competitiveness Crisis
Growth Slows to Near Standstill
Europe’s transition to circular plastics has lost significant momentum, with annual growth in circular plastics production — spanning mechanical, physical and chemical recycling, and bio-based feedstocks — collapsing from 13.6% in 2022 to just 1.2% in 2024. The findings come from Plastics Europe’s latest report, The Circular Economy for Plastics: A European Analysis, and arrive at a moment when the global picture is moving in the opposite direction: worldwide circular plastics production growth accelerated from 5% to 7.7% over the same period. Converter demand for circular plastics within Europe is also weakening, slowing from 16.2% annual growth in 2022 to 4% in 2024.
Import Dependency and Waste Leakage
Europe’s circular plastics sector is increasingly reliant on external supply chains. Some 19% of converter demand for circular plastics is now met through imports, and 12.4% of Europe’s collected plastic waste is being recycled in other regions rather than domestically. Dependency is even more pronounced for fossil-based plastics, where 25% of converter demand is sourced from abroad. Industry leaders warn that exporting valuable sorted waste while importing recycled materials simultaneously weakens Europe’s industrial base and undermines its climate ambitions.
Two Root Causes Identified
The report identifies two structural drivers behind the slowdown. The first is an erosion of international competitiveness: high energy prices, rising emissions costs, and volatile feedstock prices have collectively weakened Europe’s plastics manufacturers, who are especially exposed to geopolitical risk due to their dependence on imported gas and oil. The second is policy failure. Despite incremental progress, measures designed to stimulate market supply and demand for circular plastics have lacked the ambition and pace needed to unlock investment, a situation the report describes as “a massive source of frustration.”
Industry in Survival Mode
Plastics Europe president Rob Ingram warned that manufacturers are currently focused on survival rather than investment, describing the current dynamic as “Europe’s decarbonisation through deindustrialisation.” While Europe still holds the largest share of circular plastics in its overall production mix at 15.8%, this figure has been inflated by a sharp 8.3% decline in fossil-based plastics output, which fell to 43.3 million tonnes between 2022 and 2024 — masking rather than reflecting genuine circular progress.
Recycling Rates Still Insufficient
Although recycling rates have improved to 29.6%, more than 70% of Europe’s collected plastic waste continued to be sent to incineration in 2024. Managing director Virginia Janssens argued that plastic waste represents a strategic resource opportunity — the chance for Europe to become a resource-rich continent less dependent on fossil imports. Referencing recent energy supply shocks, she stressed that a strong domestic circular plastics economy is “non-negotiable.” Without urgent policy and investment action, Janssens cautioned, Europe risks ceding the industrial and economic value of its own circular transition to competing regions.
https://www.soci.org/news/2026/5/dramatic-slowdown-in-shift-to-circular-plastics-in-europe