Düsseldorf, Thursday 20th of October 2022
The report presents an increase of 20% in recycled content in new plastics products in the EU27+3 compared to 2020, reaching 5.5 million tonnes. It also shows a 12.4% share of circular plastics production* in Europe, showing that the European plastics system is initiating a switch towards decoupling from fossil sources.
Economic data also show resilience of the European plastics industry during the Covid-19 pandemic, with an employment rate of more than 1.5 million people and over 52,000 companies. Due to the current energy and logistics crisis, however, forecasts expect a production decrease of 4% for 2022, and great uncertainties with regards to 2023.
Plastics – the Facts is an analysis of the latest data related to plastics production*, demand, conversion and end-of-life management in Europe. It also provides information on key figures of the European plastics industry. In short, this report gives an insight into the industry’s contribution to European society.
*Including plastics production from polymerisation and production of mechanically recycled plastics