Recycled plastic is less than 30% in the EU

The demand for recycled plastic now amounts to only 6% of the total demand for plastics in Europe

"In the European Union, the potential for recycling plastic waste remains largely untapped. The reuse and recycling of end-of-life plastics is much lower than other materials such as paper, glass or metals. Around 28.5 million tons of plastic waste are generated in Europe each year. Of these, less than 30% is collected for recycling and, in any case, a significant part of these exits the EU territory to be processed in Third Countries.

At the same time, landfill and incineration rates remain high, at 31% of 39% respectively, and while landfill use is declining progressively over the past decade, incineration is on the rise. According to estimates, 95% of the economic value of plastic packaging, that is to say between 70 and 105 billion euros per year, is lost after a very short first useful life cycle. The demand for recycled plastic now totals in Europe 6% of that of the total of plastics. It is estimated that the production of plastic and the incineration of plastic waste generates globally about 400 million tons of CO2 per year. Using more recycled plastic can reduce the dependence on fossil fuel extraction to produce new plastics and cut CO2 emissions. It is estimated that the potential annual energy savings from the recycling of all plastic waste on a global scale are equivalent to 3.5 billion barrels of oil.

(European Commission, "A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy")