NEWS


Dire warnings about the impact of low recyclate prices in Europe


The problems caused by prevailing low prices for recycled plastics in Europe have led two leading recycling associa- tions to speak out. Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) said that the plastics recycling market in Europe has been heavily destabilised throughout 2023. “Since the beginning of the year,


prices of recyclates have decreased by up to 50%, while cheap imports of materials from outside of the EU have significantly increased. If urgent measures are not taken to alleviate the pressure on recyclers, there is risk that Europe will fall short of achieving its legally binding and newly proposed recycling and recycled content targets,” said PRE. The poor market conditions for


European recyclers apply to all polymers, it said, using the cheap supply of virgin PET as an example. “Due to the lack of a level-playing field, PET imports [both virgin and recycled PET] to the EU have increased by 20% from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023, resulting in low demand for EU rPET. Consequent- ly, these disruptive market dynamics led to an estimated 10% decrease in rPET over the same period,” said PRE. Ton Emans, PRE President, warned


that immediate action is needed in the form of enforcement measures regarding imports to avoid a shutdown of recycling plants across Europe. He said: “Ceasing recycling activities would have knock-on effects on jobs, overall economy in Europe and the environment.” Without stronger enforcement,


untraceable and unverified imports of plastics could be used in data related to meeting European recycling targets. PRE said: “Introducing an independent third-party certification system would solve these issues. In parallel, it would


4


Left: A heap of trouble – stocks of plastics waste and recyclate are growing in Europe


Inset left: Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe


help to avoid unverified declarations and promote traceability, particularly for food contact materials, while boosting the trans- parency on the origin of


recycled plastics.” BIR, the global recycling body, said


that low prices in Europe are being exacerbated by high stocks of material. BIR’s Plastics Committee has found that “some [European] recyclers have had no option but to offer large batches of recycled material at extremely reduced levels. At present, these batches are being bought up by major producers and put into stock, thereby building substantial inventories which will guarantee prices remain low signifi- cantly into the future.” Brand owners are attracted to the


cheap prices of virgin plastics, despite pledges to meet recycled content mandates. “Even in Spain, where a Euro 0.45 tax was introduced in January this year on every kilogram of plastic produced that cannot be recycled, it appears that an increasing number of companies are willing to pay this levy instead of using recycled plastics; some have even increased their prices to cover this additional cost,” said BIR. It has heard reports from Germany,


PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | October 2023


that manufacturers using recyclate in their production have such high stocks that they have put a temporary stop on ordering more material. It said that feedback from Scandinavia suggests recyclers’ warehouses are full both in terms of their incoming materials and their recycled output, which has led some operators to take more downtime. BIR has also reported on the market


situations in other regions. In the USA, post-consumer recycled plastics are struggling with three major issues: cheap imports, lacklustre markets and depressed commodity prices. It said: “Over the summer in California, unusually low PET volumes coupled with consistent demand triggered an increase in bale prices, with the result that imported rPET is very cheap by comparison. As a result on the US West Coast, imported rPET flake is being delivered to reclaimers’ customers at less than their own costs of production.” Plant efficiencies in Asia remain


constrained by a bottleneck of PET collections, BIR reported. But it is hoped that progress in the implemen- tation of extended producer responsi- bility programmes (notably in Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia) will help to boost collection rates. � https://www.plasticsrecyclers.eu � www.bir.org


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: BOREALIS


I


M


A


G


: E


P


R


E


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58