Europe’s recycling industry is at breaking point. Despite billions invested, recyclers are going bust while virgin plastic stays cheap.
Last Friday in Brussels, Willemijn Peeters handed over the Ring the Bell for Recycling statement to Wolfgang Trunk at the European Commission — carrying the support of 111 industry leaders from across Europe.
Their message is clear: Europe’s recyclers need action now, not in four years’ time. Without a viable market and stable demand for recyclate, the circular economy will remain just words on paper.

A new factory processes chip bags or salad containers into oil, which is then used to make new plastic. And there are more plans for chemical recycling in the Netherlands. But this is merely a drop in the ocean according to Circular Plastics expert Willemijn Peeters. “The amount of waste these petrochemical companies process is infinitesimal compared to their virgin plastic production,” says Willemijn Peeters, founder of Searious Business, a Dutch organization that helps prevent plastic pollution.