The European Commission presented a bundle of "pilot measures" to accelerate Europe’s circular economy shortly before Christmas. The so-called winter package, which forms part of ongoing work on a new Circular Economy Act (CEA), is intended to stabilise the plastics sector, which is under increasing pressure.
While the initiative has been broadly welcomed by industry, it has also been criticised as insufficient. In the view of the trade association Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) and the European waste management association FEAD, it fails to provide adequate support to address the structural crisis in European plastics recycling.
By contrast, the plastics producers’ association Plastics Europe views the package as a positive but incomplete first step towards a supportive regulatory framework.
The Commission itself describes the package as an urgent response to a sharp deterioration in market conditions. It points to fragmented sales markets, high energy prices, highly volatile – and recently low – prices for virgin plastics, as well as growing competition from low-cost plastics imports from third countries. According to the Commission, these factors have undermined the economic viability of many recycling plants.
FEAD says that Europe’s plastics recycling industry is experiencing its "deepest downturn on record", with a net decrease of around one million tonnes of recycling capacity in Europe by the end of 2025. The timing is seen as particularly problematic given the upcoming entry into force of the export ban on plastic waste to non-OECD countries. As export outlets disappear, there is at the same time a lack of sustainable demand within the EU market....
