Plastics Europe Calls for Stronger Market Conditions in the EU Circular Economy Act

09.01.2026

Plastics Europe has submitted its feedback to the EU Circular Economy Act public consultation, warning that Europe's plastics industry is under growing pressure. While manufacturers are committed to circularity and climate neutrality, rising energy costs, fragmented regulation and weak market incentives risk undermining investment, jobs and innovation across the European plastics value chain.

Plastics as a Strategic Pillar of the European Economy

Plastics play a critical role in Europe's economy, supplying key sectors such as automotive, packaging, construction, electronics, healthcare and renewable energy infrastructure. Today, the European plastics value chain supports around 1.5 million jobs across more than 50,000 companies. However, the industry is facing a sharp decline in manufacturing output, with production lines shutting down and plants closing in several regions.

Plastics Europe stresses that these developments threaten Europe's industrial competitiveness, strategic autonomy and climate ambitions, unless decisive policy action is taken.

From Policy Ambition to Business Reality

European plastics manufacturers are already aligned behind the "Plastics Transition" roadmap, aiming to make plastics circular, reduce lifecycle emissions to net zero, and promote their sustainable use. Yet, according to Plastics Europe, circularity remains largely a policy aspiration rather than an economic reality.

To close this gap, the association calls for legally enforceable and consistently implemented EU measures that create real market demand for circular plastics.

Key Priorities for the Circular Economy Act

Plastics Europe highlights several priority areas to unlock circular growth:

• Creating market pull for circular feedstocks, including recycled, bio-based and carbon-captured materials, supported by clear recycled content targets.
• Levelling the global playing field, ensuring imported plastics meet equivalent EU circularity and sustainability standards.
• Investing in the circular transition, by reinvesting plastics-related revenues into recycling infrastructure, innovation and low-carbon technologies.
• Strengthening the EU single market for plastic waste, with harmonised end-of-waste criteria and more efficient intra-EU waste shipments.
• Phasing out linear practices, including landfilling and incineration of recyclable plastics, while tackling illegal waste exports.

A Call for Urgent and Coordinated Action

Without swift intervention, high energy prices, unsupportive legislation and fragmented policies will continue to weaken Europe’s plastics industry. Plastics Europe therefore urges EU policymakers to use the Circular Economy Act to deliver clarity, investment certainty and fair competition, enabling plastics to contribute fully to a climate-neutral, circular European economy.