The year 2024 has brought the plastics recycling industry to its breaking point. There have been significant slumps in recyclate markets as a result of the weak macroeconomic environment, massive drops in demand and the growing price pressure caused by inexpensive primary plastics.
In November, the general economic malaise led to another decrease in demand for recyclate on the German market. This especially affected the recycled polypropylene segment, where some recycles reported they had not sold a single tonne of regrind over the entire month. Polyethylene recyclers were also forced to lower prices.
Since December has fewer working days, many recyclers will use this short month for maintenance and inventory and will therefore stop accepting waste plastics as early as the middle of the month. Many plants are planning to pause operations over the holidays and until 6 January.
Industry players are not very optimistic about the coming year. Especially the smaller and medium-sized recyclers will struggle to survive under the current market conditions. For many companies, 2025 could be a decisive year, as most market experts only expect a sustained recovery as of 2026.
Read the complete monthly market report for waste plastics in Germany and access price charts and graphing tools here:
