Market

A regional initiative in California establishes closed-loop stretch film recycling, enabling collection, processing and remanufacturing of stretch film within a North American supply chain.

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Genesis Power & Energy Solutions Ltd have entered into a partnership to develop an rPET production facility in Nigeria. The planned plant will be located in Lagos and is designed to produce up to 45,000 tonnes of food-grade recycled PET (rPET) resin annually. Start-up of the facility is targeted for the first half of 2027.

The Reiling Group has founded Convitrum GmbH, a company specialising in PV recycling plant engineering. The new company aims to respond to increasing demand in Europe and other international markets for technologies and systems for recycling photovoltaic modules.

Circular economy concepts are increasingly gaining importance in response to geopolitical tensions, unstable supply chains and rising raw material prices. At IFAT Munich 2026, the event programme illustrates how recycling technologies, digitalisation and new forms of cooperation can contribute to more efficient resource use and greater economic resilience. The international trade fair for environmental technologies will take place in Munich from 4 to 7 May 2026.

The European composites market 2025 continues to face challenging conditions. Macroeconomic weakness in several regions and declining industrial production in key application sectors continued to affect the market. However, the downturn in production proved less severe than previously expected.

RIGK GmbH and GCR Plastic Solutions have initiated a European pilot project on industrial packaging recycling. The initiative aims to demonstrate that complex post-consumer packaging streams can be processed and reintegrated into industrial production cycles while maintaining defined quality, traceability and safety standards.

RecyClass has published a new protocol and the first sector-specific Design for Recycling Guidelines for plastic components used in the automotive and electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) sectors.

With war in the Middle East, crude oil and natural gas prices are surging as ships are held back at the Strait of Hormuz with obvious negative implications for global economies. But another big constraint is exports of chemicals and plastics from the region which will put upward pressure on prices.

Landbell USA has been selected by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) as the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) for the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 (SB 707).

European construction equipment sales increased by 4.6 per cent in 2025, marking a moderate recovery after the downturn of the previous year. This is according to the CECE Annual Economic Report 2026, which identifies a stabilisation of market conditions amid a still fragile macroeconomic environment.

Interzero has digitalised its maintenance management in cooperation with Eggersmann. The company has been using the ESA app for more than two years to manage maintenance and plant processes at its plastics sorting facilities. The software is designed as a modular solution for digital plant management and process optimisation in the recycling industry.