Borealis, Dow, and Neste have canceled or paused major recycling plant projects in Europe amid falling demand for recycled plastics and stiff competition from cheaper virgin materials.
Alex Scott reports for Chemical & Engineering News.
In short:
- Borealis halted plans for a mechanical recycling facility in Austria after finding the project would not meet performance goals in today’s market.
- Dow canceled a chemical recycling plant in Germany and plans to shutter its petrochemical cracker there, citing high European energy costs.
- Neste and Ravago dropped plans for a joint recycling plant in the Netherlands as weak recycled plastic demand and low virgin plastic prices erode profitability.
Why this matters:
Europe’s plastics recycling sector is unraveling just as policymakers push to curb waste and carbon emissions. With virgin plastic still cheap — especially as oil prices drop and petrochemical giants slash costs — recycled plastic struggles to compete. At the same time, there are serious environmental and health concerns around so-called "chemical recycling." The collapse last week of the United Nations plastic treaty talks over production caps does not bode well for achieving alternative solutions to reducing waste and shifting away from such pollution-intensive recycling methods.
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