News and Insights

From 2030, plastic packaging sold in the EU will have to contain a minimum share of post-consumer recycled plastic under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). For polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), the targets arrive at a difficult time: European recycling capacity for these polymers was flat in 2024, and total recyclate output fell. The plant closures accelerated further in 2025. For virgin PE and PP producers, the question is when demand will actually start to shift.

More recycled PET (rPET) is being offered for food packaging, but not all recycled materials are suitable for the same applications. The term “food grade” can be misleading if the conditions attached to the relevant regulatory opinion are overlooked.

“How can we make collection and logistics viable to return the hundreds of tonnes of discarded flexible packaging to recyclers?”

Expanded polystyrene’s light weight is an advantage in use and a penalty after use. EPS is approximately 95% to 98% air. A truck can fill its cubic capacity with loose foam long before it approaches its weight limit. Unless the material is compacted near where it is collected, transportation can consume the economics of recycling.

A familiar explanation for slow adoption of recycled polystyrene in food packaging is that food-contact approval is unavailable. The record is more encouraging—and more complicated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Recycled Plastics in Food Packaging database now lists dozens of polystyrene submissions for which the agency issued favorable opinions.

Polystyrene recycling statistics can sound irreconcilable. A June 2026 report from the Polystyrene Recycling Alliance cites a 31% North American recycling rate for expanded-polystyrene transport packaging. California’s January 2026 Material Characterization Study reports recycling rates below 1% for several foamed-PS packaging categories and below 2% for several solid-PS categories.