Plastics Recycling Show Europe, PRS Europe, celebrated its tenth anniversary edition this year. The event confirmed its position as the world’s largest exhibition dedicated to plastics recycling. More than 11,500 attendees came to Amsterdam to meet over 500 exhibitors and hear more than 70 industry representatives during the conference programme. The scale of the event and the presence of representatives from across the plastics recycling value chain indicate the continuing importance of this segment for the European circular economy. This year’s edition also served as a forum for discussion on the competitiveness of the European recycling sector and the conditions for its further development.
Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, delivered the opening session. After the keynote, she took part in a solution-oriented roundtable together with the CEOs of 11 companies operating across the plastics recycling value chain. After the event, she said: "One message came through clearly, there is no circular economy without plastics recycling, and no competitive circular economy without a strong and resilient European recycling industry."
Ton Emans, President of Plastics Recyclers Europe, also referred to the importance of dialogue between industry and European institutions. He stressed that Commissioner Roswall’s engagement and continued support are proof of the growing recognition by policymakers of the needs of the European plastics recycling value chain. He also added: "Levelling the playing field to make our industry competitive requires open dialogue and ongoing collaboration between industry and European institutions."
International representation of the industry
Among the international guests attending the event were Shri Siddhesh Kadam, Chairman of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, who had also spoken at PRS India in Mumbai, and the Ambassador of Indonesia to the Netherlands, L. Amrih Jinangkung. The presence of representatives of administration and diplomacy underlined the international nature of the event and the growing importance of plastics recycling issues beyond Europe.
Matt Barber, Global Events Director at Crain Communications, described this year’s edition as a turning point for the sector after a difficult period since the previous show. As he said: "The tenth anniversary edition of PRS Europe felt like a real turning point for the industry after what has been a difficult year for the sector since our last show. We received very positive feedback from both exhibitors and visitors. There is no better place to discover what is possible today and in the future with the latest plastics recycling technology and solutions."
The organisers indicate that the importance of the event was underlined by visitors, exhibitors and speakers representing different parts of the industry alike. Participants viewed the tenth edition as an important opportunity for meetings, exchange of experience and a review of current directions in recycling technology development.
Participants’ views and the next edition
Kostiantyn Kulyk, Senior Sector Engineer at the European Investment Bank, said: "I would strongly recommend everyone to participate in PRSE. It’s a massive event. The entire plastics recycling value chain is present here." Clemens Kitzberger, Business Development Manager for post-consumer recycling at Erema Group, noted: "I have been coming to PRSE in Amsterdam since the very beginning. It is the most important show for our post-consumer recycling industry."
Ansgar Thees Ovelgönne, Managing Director of Thees Kunststoffverarbeitung GmbH and Plastics Recycling Ambassador 2026, said during the event: "If you want to learn something about recycling in just two days, come to Amsterdam. You can see the full scale of recycling and the people behind it."
According to the information provided, Plastics Recycling Show Europe will return to Halls 1 and 5 at RAI Amsterdam on 29-30 June 2027. The Plastics Recycling Shows series is currently held in four locations worldwide, Amsterdam, Dubai, Shanghai and Mumbai. Additional venues are expected to be announced later this year.
Hall 1, shown in the picture, and Hall 5 at RAI Amsterdam were busy with visitors throughout PRS Europe 2026
