Plastics

European Bioplastics (EUBP) presented the Bioplastics Market Development Update 2025 at EBC25 in Berlin. The report shows continued global growth in biobased plastics production and an increasing contribution to circular economy strategies.

Alpla is developing a solvent-based recycling process to produce food-grade HDPE. The company is testing the patented process at a pilot plant in Heerenveen in cooperation with the independent technological institute NTCP.

The European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) has expanded its Circularity Test Protocol with the Quick Test – Accelerated Impact Test.Circularity (QT-AIT.Circularity).

The European PET value chain encourages the adoption of the pr EN18120 series for design for recycling and recyclability assessment protocols for plastics packaging developed by CEN TC261/SC4/WG10 Design for Recycling (DfR) standards for plastic packaging, developed under the European Commission’s mandate.

Nextek will participate in a pioneering four-year project aimed at developing circular, and sustainable solutions to reduce waste and carbon emissions in primary and secondary healthcare and pharmaceutical packaging.

Northern Ireland based Plaswire has announced an initiative that uses blockchain, IoT and AI technology to revolutionise the recycling of wind turbine blades, unlocking a seismic opportunity for other sectors, including aerospace.

The recycling of complex and composite plastic materials is one of the main challenges of today’s circular economy. Their presence is increasingly common in strategic sectors such as automotive, renewable energy, and aerospace, where they offer lightness, strength, and versatility.

Europe’s plastics recycling industry is entering its sharpest decline — with turnover down 5.5% — putting at risk Europe’s circular economy, industrial resilience and thousands of local jobs.

The European Union remains largely on track to achieve its 2030 targets to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, according to the latest annual check-up on EU progress to its energy and climate targets published by the European Environment Agency today. Total net greenhouse gas emissions in the EU fell by a further 2.5% in 2024, according to estimated figures included in the ‘Trends and projections’ report.

At the K 2025 trade fair, Lindner introduced Flexloop, a new mechanical recycling technology developed in cooperation with Procter & Gamble. The process is based on solvent-assisted extraction and is designed to remove impurities such as non-intentionally added substances (NIAS), odours, adhesives and printing inks from polymer chains.

A research project by ETH Zurich in cooperation with BASF SE has examined a new recycling pathway for mixed plastic waste from end-of-life vehicles. The study explored the joint recycling of automotive shredder residue and biomass through gasification.