MEMBER ZONE
February 3, 2025

Joint statement on end-of-waste criteria for plastics

Recycling Industry urgently calls for the adoption of EU-wide end-of-waste criteria for plastic wastes

As announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, the new Circular Economy Act will aim to create market demand for recycled materials and to establish a single market for waste. In this context, the development of harmonised end-of-waste (EoW) criteria for plastic waste, in accordance with Article 6 of Directive 2008/98/EC, is essential to achieve a truly circular economy for plastics in Europe.

EU-wide EoW criteria, specifing when plastic waste ceases to be waste, is imperative and essential to create a level playing field, eliminate market barriers and foster trust in recycled materials. This is particularly important in the current context of low demand of recycled plastic and low prices of virgin plastic, together with ambitious recycled content targets. Moreover, the new waste export rules, banning plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries as of 2026, will create a surplus of waste available in the EU, which will intensify the need for a strong internal EU market for recycled plastics.

In the absence of harmonised EU EoW criteria for plastics, high-quality recycled plastics products face uncertainty, as Member States interpret their legal status – waste or product – differently. While countries like Spain or Portugal have established EoW criteria for the mechanical treatment of thermoplastic waste, inconsistencies remain across Europe. This legal uncertainty has a direct impact on the operations of European plastics recyclers as it results in additional costs for the trade of recyclates within the EU, and therefore limits investments decisions on new recycling capacities and technologies, affecting the growth and the economic stability of the sector.

Harmonized EU EoW criteria are also vital for supporting EU industry and ensuring fair competition globally. Clear rules are essential to verify EU sustainability standards, which will apply to non-EU post-consumer plastic waste under the soon-to-be published PPWR. With the December 2026 deadline to develop the necessary methodology approaching, establishing these criteria promptly is critical to maintaining a level playing field and avoiding delays in adoption.

Therefore, we, the undersigned Associations, welcome the JRC’s technical proposal for EU-wide end-of-waste criteria for plastic waste[1] and urge the Commission to move forward without further delays with a legislative proposal that helps  to boost plastic recycling in Europe and increase the uptake of recycled materials.

Whilst we fully support the criteria for all thermoplastic polymer waste, being limited to mechanical and physical recycling processes, we believe that the JRC proposal could be improved on key points to be fully effective for the plastics recycling sector.

We are committed to support the European Commission in developing a feasible and workable set of rules that will boost the uptake of recycled plastic, supporting a thriving, competitive and innovative European plastic recycling industry.

The expediency of this action is of the foremost importance.


[1] See JRC report published in November 2024 : https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC139303


FEAD is the European Waste Management Association, representing the private waste and resource management industry across Europe, including 20 national waste management federations and 3,000 waste management companies. Private waste management companies operate in 60% of municipal waste markets in Europe and in 75% of industrial and commercial waste. This means more than 320,000 local jobs, fuelling €5 billion of investments into the economy every year. For more information, please contact info@fead.be

EERA is the voice of WEEE recycling in Europe being the professional association for the e-waste recycling and reprocessing industry. ​ Our mission is to achieve a level playing field for fair competition in the WEEE value chain, harmonisation of regulations, effective and efficient recycling and reprocessing with prevention of pollution, minimization of emissions and a high quality of secondary raw materials and components.​


EuRIC, the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation is the umbrella organisation for the recycling industries in Europe. Through its 80 members from 23 countries across Europe, EuRIC represents more than 5,500 large companies and SMEs involved in the recycling and trade of various resource streams. They represent a contribution of 95 billion EUR to the EU economy and 300,000 green and local jobs. By turning waste into resources, recycling reintroduces valuable materials into value chains over and over again. By bridging circularity and climate neutrality, recyclers are pioneers in leading Europe’s industrial transition and competitiveness.  

Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) is an organization representing the voice of the European plastics recyclers who reprocess plastic waste into high-quality material destined for the production of new articles. Recyclers are important facilitators of the circularity of plastics and the transition towards the circular economy.  Plastics recycling in Europe is a rapidly growing industry representing over €9.1 billion in turnover, 13.2 million tonnes of installed recycling capacity, around 850 recycling facilities, and over 30,000 employees.