Relaunch of the Circular Plastics Alliance: a stronger EU push for fairer plastics markets

The European Commission has relaunched the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA), giving it a renewed mission at a time of mounting pressure on Europe’s plastics recycling sector. Originally launched in 2018 under the European Strategy for Plastics, the Alliance had focused on key objectives such as increasing the use of recycled plastics in new products and improving monitoring of recycled plastics flows. While that first phase was largely completed, the sector now faces a very different reality. EU plastics recyclers are under growing strain from high energy costs, low and volatile virgin plastic prices, and competition from cheap imported plastics, including recycled plastics, leading in some cases to financial losses, reduced capacity, and even closures. Against this backdrop, the revamped Alliance is intended to serve as a robust platform for cooperation between industry, public authorities and other stakeholders across the plastics value chain. Its new mission is to jointly identify, discuss and address the main challenges facing the European plastics sector, while also supporting the circular economy and the use of recycled plastics in new products. The Alliance is also expected to provide factual input to the Commission as it considers whether further measures are needed to ensure a fairer market for the EU plastics value chain.