Compared to 2022, total EU plastics production saw a sharp decline of 8.3%, falling to 54 Mt. Production of mechanically recycled post-consumer plastics also declined by 7.8%, reaching 7.1 Mt. These figures contrast with a 3.4% global increase in plastics production. These figures mean that Europe’s share of the global market has further declined to 12%. Whilst Europe has maintained a positive trade balance in value terms, in tonnage terms it became a net importer of plastics resins in 2022 and plastic finished goods in 2021, and exports of plastics resins fell by 25.4% between 2020 and 2023.
Europe’s eroding competitiveness threatens our industry’s circular plastics transition. Plastics are essential for the European economy, supplying multiple industries with applications in almost every sector, including healthcare, automotive, building and construction, electronics, renewables infrastructure, consumer goods and packaging. This shift threatens the viability of the European plastics value chain, which currently supports over 1.5 million jobs across 51,700 companies and generated more than €365 billion in turnover within the EU in 2023. Without a competitive framework, Europe risks losing its leadership in sustainable plastics innovation, along with the economic and environmental benefits it brings.
Input and analysis from Plastics Europe’s members confirm that a sharp increase in imports of plastic resins and finished goods from regions with less stringent environmental standards, caused by global overcapacity in plastics production. This is undermining the business case for European plastics recycling and the transition to a circular plastics system. It also confirms that, like much of the EU’s industrial base, plastics manufacturers are currently facing high production costs driven by factors such as high energy and feedstock prices, persistent inflation and limited circular feedstock availability. This coincides with poor European growth and recession in some key European economies and sectors.
Despite Europe maintaining the highest share of circular plastics relative to its total production of 14.8%, the increase of 0.7% since 2022 signifies a decelerating trend and falls short of the growth required to meet the ambitions of the Plastics Transition roadmap. In addition to a decline in mechanical recycling production, only 0.12 Mt of chemically recycled plastic was produced in Europe in 2023, while bio-based and bio-attributed plastics production slightly increased to reach 0.8 Mt.
