The European Union is planning stricter controls on plastic imports, including tougher documentation requirements, as it seeks to support domestic recycling plants facing rising costs and competition from cheaper overseas material.
The European Commission said it would introduce tougher rules for plastic imports in an effort to help Europe’s recycling industry, which has been hit by high energy prices and low-cost imports.According to industry group Plastics Recyclers Europe, Europe’s plastics recycling sector lost more capacity in 2025 than in any previous year, with plants closing in countries including the Netherlands as a result of rising costs and competition from cheaper imports.
A key concern, the Commission said, is that virgin plastic — produced from fossil fuels — is being mislabelled as recycled material. This makes it harder for European recyclers to compete, as genuinely recycled plastic is typically more expensive to produce.
In a policy document published on Tuesday, Reuters news agency reports the European Commission said it would propose legal changes in the first half of 2026 requiring stricter documentation for imports of recycled plastics. It also plans to introduce separate customs codes for recycled and virgin plastics to improve import tracking. More of this article (Circular) - link - more like this (plastic) - link - more like this (EU) - link
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