Plastics remain a key material for many strategic sectors of the European Union economy, from food packaging and automotive and electromobility to renewable energy, construction and healthcare. At the same time, the European plastics industry has been struggling for several years with increasing competitiveness challenges compared with other world regions, high energy costs, regulatory pressure and growing dependence on imported feedstocks. In the view of the industry and some experts, under the current geopolitical and economic conditions one of the important tools for strengthening the EU's feedstock security may be the systematic increase in supply and demand for plastics from recycling and other circular sources.
An additional risk factor is geopolitical tension and conflicts affecting global trade routes, including the situation in the Middle East. In such conditions, ensuring the stability of raw material and material supply chains is becoming one of the priorities of EU industrial policy. In industry discussions, the demand is increasingly voiced to treat plastic waste not as a burden but as a potential source of secondary raw material that can strengthen Europe's feedstock and product autonomy. According to sector representatives, to unlock this potential both investment in recycling technologies and effective mechanisms to stimulate demand for circular plastics from converters and end users are needed.
Declining European share in global plastics production
The European plastics sector is in a phase of clear weakening. Data cited by the industry show that Europe's share in global plastics production has fallen from 22% in 2006 to just 12% in 2024. Over the same period, the value of sector turnover has declined from EUR 457 billion in 2022 to EUR 398 billion in 2024, which represents a reduction of around 13%. This is accompanied by the shutdown of production lines and closure of plants, and thus a gradual limitation of production capacity within the European Union.
According to industry representatives, without decisive action at EU level, further deindustrialisation may have lasting consequences for the structure of European industry, including the security of supply of key materials. This is highlighted by Anna Kozera-Szałkowska, managing director of Plastics Europe Polska, the Polish branch of the association of plastics producers in Europe. In her view, the events of recent years illustrate the scale of challenges related to supply continuity.
She points out that from the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine to the current situation in the Middle East, successive years have increasingly shown how important it is to secure the continuity of supply chains and the raw material base for European industry. In this context, the loss of local plastics production facilities may translate into greater vulnerability of the EU economy to disruptions in global trade.
Another aspect is the nature of large industrial installations in the chemical and plastics sector. It is emphasised that shutting down such facilities is not a process that can be easily reversed. Once many installations have ceased operation, there are no economic or technical prerequisites for restarting them, which in practice means a permanent reduction of production potential in a given region.
The importance of plastics for employment and the economy
Plastics are an integral part of the European economy. Parts, components and products made of plastics are used in key industrial sectors such as automotive and electromobility, the packaging sector, energy-efficient construction, electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing, modern healthcare, infrastructure for renewable energy sources and a wide range of consumer goods.
According to industry data, the entire plastics value chain in Europe provides around 1.5 million jobs in more than 50,000 companies. Maintaining manufacturing activities within the EU is therefore important not only from the perspective of securing the supply of raw materials and products, but also in terms of the labour market, household incomes and citizens' standard of living.
In Poland, the rubber and plastics products industry is one of the more dynamically developing segments of manufacturing, with a stable long-term growth trend. For the national economy, this means a significant contribution to job creation, investment and exports, but also greater sensitivity to regulatory decisions and competitive conditions in the EU single market.
Recyclate as a local feedstock source
In the opinion of experts, one of the responses to feedstock challenges is the consistent strengthening of the circular economy in the plastics sector. Recycling technologies, both mechanical and other available methods of raw material recovery, play a key role in this process. Anna Kozera-Szałkowska points out that recycled plastics available on the internal market can be a stable source of feedstock in conditions of increasing uncertainty on global markets.
Industry roadmaps assume that in the coming years most plastics used in Europe could come from circular raw materials. This, however, requires the development and deployment of the full spectrum of recycling technologies and the creation of effective mechanisms to stimulate demand for circular products and solutions. Among the potential tools, stakeholders point to stimulating investment in innovation, introducing ambitious but realistic targets for recycled content in products and removing internal barriers that hinder the free movement of goods and secondary raw materials within the EU market.
Sector representatives argue that the development of an internal recycling market is important not only for achieving climate and environmental goals, but also for increasing feedstock stability and reducing dependence on imports. They point out that plastic waste should be seen as a resource which, with an appropriate system of collection, sorting and processing, can become an important source of raw material for the European converting industry.
In this context, the question is emphasised whether, in light of the current political and economic situation, the EU should not focus more strongly on maintaining and developing plastic waste streams on its own market and on improving the efficiency of managing this stream through regulation and economic instruments.
Competitiveness of European industry versus regulation and trade
Improving material circularity and increasing the share of recyclates in the market alone will not solve all the sector's problems. The plastics value chain is complex and covers many stages, from the production of primary and secondary raw materials through processing to product design and waste management systems. Therefore, measures to improve feedstock security and support the transition towards a circular economy must take into account the broader context of the global competitiveness of EU industry.
One of the key challenges is the declining competitiveness of European producers compared with entities in other world regions. Industry data show that global plastics production increased by 4.1% last year and by 16.3% compared with 2018. Asia currently accounts for 57.2% of global plastics production, with China alone accounting for 34.5%, which is almost three times the share of the entire European Union.
In this context, the industry calls for stronger protection against unfair competition at the EU's external borders. The proposed tools include investment in enhanced customs control capacity, harmonisation of procedures within the single market, wider use of digital tools to track goods flows and the introduction of mandatory independent certification for specific categories of imported products.
According to sector representatives, such instruments can help create a more level playing field between European manufacturers and non-EU entities, especially in relation to environmental, quality and product safety requirements. At the same time, the industry points out that new regulations on circularity and recycled content should reflect the actual state of technology and companies' investment capacities, in order to support rather than weaken the industrial base in Europe.
The common thread in the debate is the need for a coherent industrial policy that combines climate, environmental and resource objectives with job protection and maintaining industrial competitiveness. In this context, recycled plastics and other circular raw materials are seen as an important element of the overall approach, but they require accompanying measures in the areas of trade, regulation and investment support.
