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.
Articles
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.
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.
New waste shipment rules apply: DIWASS, and the November export ban
Two dates change how plastic waste moves: 21 May brought new rules and DIWASS, 21 November brings the non-OECD export ban. Why the ban redistributes the problem rather than solving it.
Chemical Recycling Technologies: A Complete Guide to Pyrolysis, Gasification and Depolymerization
What is chemical recycling? Chemical recycling — also called advanced or molecular recycling — is a family of technologies that break plastic waste back down…
Mechanical Recycling vs Chemical Recycling: Complete Comparison Guide
Introduction: two paths to circularity The plastics industry faces a defining question of the 21st century: how do we close the loop on the 400+…
Polypropylene (PP) Recycling: The Complete Guide to Europe’s Fastest-Growing Recycled Polymer
What is polypropylene? Polypropylene (PP) is a thermoplastic polymer made by chain-growth polymerisation of propylene monomer. Discovered independently by several chemists in the early 1950s…
PVC Recycling: Challenges & Solutions for a Circular Vinyl Economy
What is PVC? Polyvinyl chloride, universally known as PVC or vinyl, is the world’s third most produced synthetic polymer after polyethylene and polypropylene. Chemically, PVC…
HDPE Recycling: Properties, Process & Applications of Recycled High-Density Polyethylene
High-density polyethylene — better known as HDPE, or resin identification code 2 — is the workhorse of the rigid plastic packaging world. Every time you…
PET Recycling: Complete Guide to Process, Quality & Applications
Polyethylene terephthalate — better known as PET — is the single most recycled plastic in the world. From mineral water bottles to polyester fleece jackets,…