The European Union is facing the most significant transformation in the management of plastics and synthetic materials in the past two decades. Mechanical recycling, long considered the backbone of the circular economy, is hitting both legislative and technological limits. Chemical recycling is therefore entering the stage as a technology capable of returning plastics and synthetic fibres back to the monomer level, delivering materials with a quality equivalent to virgin polymers.
New EU legislation makes it increasingly clear that chemical recycling will not be merely a complementary option, but will become a core technology of the EU circular economy.
MECHANICAL RECYCLING – STRICT RULES AND MANDATORY CERTIFICATIONS
Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 sets extremely stringent rules for the production of recyclates intended for food-contact applications. Mechanical recycling must therefore meet several demanding conditions:
• the input material must be almost 100% food-grade,
• a maximum of 5% may originate from non-food packaging,
• all waste must be batch-segregated, stored separately and fully traceable,
• and from 2024 onwards, the certification of collection is expected, although no certification scheme exists.
EFSA has even recommended that certification of collection should not be required until a unified scheme is adopted. RecyClass is developing an auditing framework, but only from the sorting stage onward, not for the collection process itself.
CHEMICAL RECYCLING – A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO A COMPLEX PROBLEM
Chemical recycling – including solvolysis, pyrolysis and gasification – is treated as a separate category under EU legislation. Technologies that return plastic to monomer level do not fall under Regulation 2022/1616, but under Regulation (EU) 10/2011, which governs plastics intended for food-contact applications. This significantly changes operator obligations.
Chemical recycling does not require:
• certification of collection,
• batch segregation of municipal plastic waste,
• traceability of waste from collection to the final polymer.
What matters is the quality of the monomer, not the history of the waste itself; the monomer must meet all parameters required under the relevant regulations for the subsequent production of polymers. This is one of the reasons why chemical recycling is considered a realistic pathway, while mechanical recycling is limited to only a few types of materials.
YIELD OF RECYCLATE – A KEY ARGUMENT
Legislative discussions on the draft implementing act to the SUPD have demonstrated major differences between chemical recycling technologies:
• Pyrolysis achieves a polymer yield of only ~15% under the strictest interpretation of the draft calculation method.
• Less restrictive interpretations indicate yields of 40–50%.
• Solvolysis can reach yields of around 90% (e.g., technologies such as RECIVONE).
• For comparison: fossil feedstock provides polymer yields of around 70%.
These figures show that the largest amount of usable recyclate originates from solvolysis processes. This is one of the reasons solvolysis is becoming the most sought-after technology among investors and manufacturers.
Achieving the highest possible polymer yield – whether from waste plastics or synthetic textiles – is also essential for meeting recycling targets under the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) and PPWR. Chemical recycling therefore plays an irreplaceable role due to its efficiency.
PPWR AND ESPR: THE UNIFYING FRAMEWORK OF EUROPEAN RECYCLING POLICY
A crucial role is played by the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation – PPWR (EU 2025/40), which introduces the most stringent circularity requirements for packaging in EU history. PPWR sets not only binding recycling targets but also highly specific minimum recycled content requirements for plastic components of packaging.
According to Article 7 PPWR, from 1 January 2030 (or three years after the entry into force of the relevant implementing act, whichever is later), every plastic component of packaging must contain the following minimum percentage of recycled content from post-consumer plastic waste:
• 30% for contact-sensitive PET packaging (excluding single-use beverage bottles),
• 10% for contact-sensitive packaging made from plastics other than PET,
• 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles,
• 35% for all other plastic packaging.
From 1 January 2040, the minimum percentages significantly increase:
• 50% for contact-sensitive PET packaging,
• 25% for contact-sensitive packaging made from plastics other than PET,
• 65% for single-use plastic beverage bottles,
• 65% for all other plastic packaging.
These requirements dramatically increase the demand for high-quality recyclate, especially where strict hygiene parameters must be met. Mechanical recycling alone cannot ensure such volumes or quality, positioning chemical recycling as a key tool for meeting PPWR obligations.
An important complementary role is played by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation – ESPR (EU 2024/1781), which extends circularity requirements beyond packaging. Under ESPR, synthetic textiles will be required to contain a certain percentage of recycled content by 2030 (preliminarily 25–40% depending on forthcoming delegated acts). ESPR also introduces specific durability requirements, which effectively demand polymers of very high quality. These can only be consistently achieved using virgin fossil polymers or polymers produced via chemical recycling.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY ACT – A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR THE EU
The forthcoming Circular Economy Act (CEA) reflects, among other things, the results of a recent public consultation, which highlighted that the packaging sector is facing increasing demands on recyclate quality, availability and transparent traceability. CEA aims to harmonise standards for the quality and traceability of recycled materials.
It will increase pressure on:
• higher recycling rates and reduced landfilling or incineration,
• meeting mandatory recycled-content requirements in all plastic packaging components under PPWR,
• unified end-of-waste criteria and harmonised traceability rules,
• digital tools within EPR systems to improve oversight of waste flows.
CEA also envisages economic instruments intended to promote the use of recyclate and create a predictable environment for investments into recycling technologies. These include:
• taxes on primary raw materials and on landfilling or incineration,
• tax incentives for products with recycled content,
• eco-modulation of EPR fees favouring more recyclable materials,
• minimum recycled content targets for selected packaging types.
AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR – RISING PRESSURE FOR RECYCLED PLASTICS
In the automotive industry, the importance of recycled plastics is steadily growing. According to working proposals discussed during the ongoing trilogue on the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation (ELVR), new vehicles are expected to contain approximately 25–30% recycled plastics, with part of this material supplied through closed-loop systems – i.e., recycling vehicle plastic components back into automotive applications.
This expected requirement significantly increases demand for high-quality recycled polymers capable of meeting the demanding technical and safety parameters of the automotive sector.
Chemical recycling is particularly well positioned to meet these needs, as it can consistently deliver polymer with a quality comparable to virgin materials, even when processing mixed or difficult-to-recycle waste streams.
CHEMICAL RECYCLING IS NO LONGER AN ALTERNATIVE – IT IS THE FUTURE
All major legislative developments – PPWR, SUPD, ESPR, ELVR and the forthcoming Circular Economy Act – converge on a single point:
The European circular economy cannot function without chemical recycling.
• mechanical recycling has limited applicability,
• chemical recycling does not require certified collection or batch-traceability of input waste,
• solvolysis delivers yields of up to 90%,
• it enables the production of polymer with virgin-like quality,
• it is the most suitable solution for high-quality recycled synthetic textiles under ESPR,
• polymers from chemical recycling meet strict technical and safety requirements,
• and it represents the only realistic pathway to meeting the mandatory recycled-content targets under PPWR.
Europe stands on the threshold of a new materials era – and chemical recycling is the technology that will unlock, support and advance it.
By Lenka Linhartova, Co-founder of RECIVONE