December 9, 2025 14:28

As the publication of the Circular Economy Winter Package by Commissioner Roswall draws near, three major European associations—FEAD, Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), and Recycling Europe—have issued a joint appeal calling for priority to be given to recycled plastics produced in Europe to meet mandatory recycled content targets.

According to the signatories, Europe cannot meet its circular economy and climate goals without a robust domestic recycling industry. “We have set ambitious targets, invested billions in infrastructure, and built world-leading environmental standards,” the letter reads. “Now is the time to stand up to our ambitions and manage our own waste by enforcing regional recycling at scale.”

The associations are urging the European Commission to adopt three key measures to protect and strengthen the EU's recycling capacity: First, recycled plastic content in beverage bottles placed on the EU market should come exclusively from post-consumer plastic waste collected and recycled within Europe.

Second, recycled content requirements for all products manufactured in Europe should be fulfilled using recyclates derived from post-consumer waste collected and treated in Europe.

Third, they call for robust mirror clauses to be developed and applied in the implementation and enforcement of regulations for imported products from third countries. The aim is to ensure consistency in environmental standards and traceability of the recycled content in products sold on the European market.

“This is not protectionism,” the signatories emphasize, “but rather policy coherence and shared responsibility across the value chain—ensuring that our circular economy vision is realized through domestic industrial capacity meeting the highest environmental standards, rather than being undermined by unverified imports from third countries.”

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