rPET, rHDPE and rPP: which recyclate goes where, and why the prices differ
Three recyclates, three price levels, and a spread that has more to do with colour than with polymer. A guide to matching grade to application.
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Plastic Recycling
rPET, rHDPE and rPP: which recyclate goes where, and why the prices differ
Plastic Recycling
Two weeks of PPWR: first obligations, first friction
Plastic Recycling
25% recycled content in PET bottles: why a national average is not a producer obligation
Circular Economy
End-of-waste for plastics: what the EU criteria cover and what they leave out
Plastic Recycling
PFAS in food-contact packaging: what exactly was banned on 12 August
Recent Articles
PFAS in food-contact packaging: what exactly was banned on 12 August
From 12 August 2026 three PFAS thresholds apply to food-contact packaging in the EU. They measure content rather than migration, and they cover substances nobody added on purpose.
PET bottle rules would count chemically recycled content — under conditions
The 25% target has existed since 2025 without a harmonised method for proving it. The draft act closes that gap and settles a decade-old dispute about mass balance.
Recyclate prices at the end of June: the whole curve under pressure
Full price table with rPET, rHDPE, rLDPE and rPP. Why colour is worth EUR 600 a tonne, and why prices this low signal an industry selling below cost.
ELV Regulation adopted: recycled plastic quotas reach the car industry
15% after six years, 25% after ten, with at least 20% recovered from end-of-life vehicles. Why the closed-loop clause is the substantive part of the regulation.
EFSA is assessing microplastics until 2027 — what is and isn’t known
Detection is settled; exposure and effect are not. Why some studies may overestimate transfer, and three questions that separate useful reporting from noise.
65 projects, 2.8 million tonnes announced — and three plants shut
Roughly one twentieth of announced pyrolysis capacity is running. Why scaling is hard, why two EU instruments disagree about the technology, and what November changes.
Plastic Recycling
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rPET, rHDPE and rPP: which recyclate goes where, and why the prices differ
Three recyclates, three price levels, and a spread that has more to do with colour than with polymer. A guide to matching grade to application.
Two weeks of PPWR: first obligations, first friction
What changed for recyclers rather than for packaging producers. The full calendar to 2040, and why a four-year gap between obligation and investment horizon is the real risk.
25% recycled content in PET bottles: why a national average is not a producer obligation
The 25% figure is well known. The way it is measured is not, and the difference explains why rPET demand moved less than the headline suggested.
Microplastics
View all →EFSA is assessing microplastics until 2027 — what is and isn’t known
Detection is settled; exposure and effect are not. Why some studies may overestimate transfer, and three questions that separate useful reporting from noise.
The pellet loss regulation: who needs a certificate and what lands in December
Pellets enter the environment already microplastic-sized. The EU has regulated that pathway specifically, and the December 2026 standards milestone matters more than it looks.
How Do Microplastics Form? Sources and Pathways Explained
How Microplastics Form: The Science Behind Plastic Fragmentation Microplastics — plastic particles smaller than 5 millimetres — have become one of the most pervasive environmental…
Circular Economy
View all →End-of-waste for plastics: what the EU criteria cover and what they leave out
Harmonised criteria replace twenty-seven national answers to one question. They cover mechanical and physical recycling of thermoplastics, and leave chemical recycling outside.
ELV Regulation adopted: recycled plastic quotas reach the car industry
15% after six years, 25% after ten, with at least 20% recovered from end-of-life vehicles. Why the closed-loop clause is the substantive part of the regulation.
Europe’s plastics circularity stalls: the 2026 Plastics Europe data
Circular production growth fell from 13.6% to 1.2% a year. 8.7 Mt of output, 19% of demand imported, 12.4% of collected waste recycled outside Europe.