{"id":103822,"date":"2025-07-02T09:30:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T07:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/?p=103822"},"modified":"2025-07-02T09:30:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T07:30:03","slug":"bvse-europes-recycling-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/bvse-europas-recyclingindustrie\/","title":{"rendered":"BVSE: Is Europe's recycling industry falling by the wayside?"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the BVSE's 27th International Used Plastics Day, over 300 industry representatives discussed the opportunities and risks of the new EU regulations. The association demands: Mechanical recycling must not be the loser of the new legislation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is currently happening in Brussels could fundamentally change plastics recycling in Europe. With the revision of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive (ELV) and the WEEE Directive (for waste electrical and electronic equipment), the EU is increasingly moving away from voluntary targets - and replaces them with binding recycling and recyclate utilisation quotas<\/strong>. \u201eWe are finally getting a European legal framework with substance - and binding force,\u201c emphasised Dr Thomas Probst, BVSE expert for plastics recycling.<\/p>\n

Implement PPWR - without creating new bureaucratic monsters<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The new PPWR came into force on 11 February 2025 and applies directly in all EU Member States. The regulation pursues an ambitious goal: Packaging should become packaging again<\/strong> - instead of ending up in inferior applications. But there is a gap between aspiration and reality.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n

In practice, open material flows still dominate. \u201eBeverage bottles become trays or films - genuine cycles in which packaging becomes packaging again have been the exception so far,\u201c says Dr Probst. The availability of suitable recyclates is particularly limited in the food sector.<\/strong> Only rPET currently fulfils the strict food law requirements.<\/p>\n

\u201eWe have the technical foundations for high-quality recycling. But without sufficient quantities of suitable input materials, the creation of closed loops remains a piecemeal endeavour.\u201c<\/p>\n

Dr Thomas Probst<\/strong>, BVSE expert for plastics recycling<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another new feature of the PPWR is the Explicit inclusion of commercial and industrial packaging waste.<\/strong> The industry expects far-reaching changes here: \u201eWe need new collection systems that collect plastic waste from the commercial sector separately and efficiently - without creating additional bureaucratic monsters,\u201c explained Probst.<\/p>\n

Together with the BDE, GKV and IK, the BVSE is in favour of the Development of intelligent, digitally supported systems<\/strong> under the responsibility of the Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR). The aim is to maintain and further develop proven structures - while at the same time streamlining reporting and registration obligations.<\/p>\n

Threat from the Far East: the dark side of the global market<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The BVSE sees a growing problem in the Increasing imports of Asian off-spec new goods<\/strong>, which is offered at significantly lower prices in Europe than domestic recyclates. Probst warns: \u201eThis development is leading to a double squeeze - European plastics producers are coming under pressure and the sales markets for high-quality recyclates are collapsing.\u201c<\/p>\n

Especially The regulatory imbalance is critical:<\/strong> While exports from the EU are strictly monitored, imports to Europe are barely controlled. \u201eIf we really want a closed circular economy, Europe urgently needs to make adjustments here,\u201c demanded Probst.<\/p>\n

Chemical recycling - innovation or misdirection?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The role of chemical recycling is viewed differently by the industry. Although it is technically promising, expectations regarding its actual contribution to recycling have not yet been met. \u201eDespite massive PR campaigns the quantitative output of chemical recycling currently remains marginal<\/strong>\u201c, said Probst.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, the bvse rejects current EU proposals to prioritise so-called \u201edual-use\u201c materials in the recycling quota. \u201eSpecial treatment of chemical recycling distorts the market and weakens mechanical recycling<\/strong> - although the latter has a clear ecological advantage.\u201c<\/p>\n

The BVSE's demand is clear: mechanical recycling must not be the loser in the new legislation. \u201eIt is the backbone of the European plastics recycling economy - and must remain so,\u201c emphasised Probst emphatically. A fair competitive environment, equal standards and transparent crediting systems<\/strong> are essential for this.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/em> BVSE<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the bvse's 27th International Used Plastics Day, the association demanded, among other things, that mechanical recycling should not be the loser in the new EU legislation.","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":97947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","rank_math_description":"Auf seinem Altkunststofftag fordert der bvse unter anderem, dass mechanisches Recycling nicht zum Verlierer der neuen EU-Gesetzgebung werden darf.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"bvse","rank_math_title":"","csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[58781],"tags":[65,59241,54,31,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-103822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-green-packaging","8":"tag-abfalltechnik-und-recycling","9":"tag-bvse","10":"tag-kunststoff-und-verbunde","11":"tag-nachhaltigkeit-und-green-packaging","12":"tag-packmittel-und-packstoffe","13":"cs-entry","14":"cs-video-wrap"},"acf":[],"vimeo_video":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}