EU helps struggling recyclers - Plans stricter controls on plastic imports
The European Union will introduce stricter rules on plastic imports as it tries to help recycling factories struggling to compete with cheaper imports.
Europe's plastics recycling industry lost more capacity in 2025 than in any previous year, with low-cost plastic imports and high energy costs leading to the closure of several factories.
A particular concern is that cheap plastic, new material made from virgin fossil fuels, rather than recycled plastic made from used materials, is being incorrectly labeled as recycled.
The European Commission said it will propose legal changes in the first half of 2026 to require stricter documentation for imports of recycled plastic. Another proposal would create separate customs codes for recycled and virgin plastic, to make it easier to track imports.
"The recycling sector is facing high energy costs, low and unpredictable prices for virgin plastics and competition from imports of cheap plastics," the Commission said in a document setting out the plans.
Other measures will include audits of recycling plants, including those outside Europe, and support for laboratories to carry out checks on whether shipments of recycled plastic are genuine.
Brussels will also consider whether trade measures are necessary. An EU task force on import surveillance will monitor plastic imports through 2026, the Commission said.
The EU has already imposed tariffs on Chinese PET plastic, the type used to make bottles, to address imports that Brussels called so cheap that they forced EU companies to sell at a loss to compete.
Six European countries, including France, Spain and the Netherlands, urged the EU last month to take further action against imports of low-quality recycled plastic, which they said was being sold at heavily discounted prices.
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