#Recycling / Circular Economy

2025-03-06

EuRIC plastics webinar brings together 250+ participants to tackle Europe’s plastics recycling crisis

Over 250 industry stakeholders gathered at EuRIC’s webinar on 4 March to address a critical question: How can Europe resolve its plastics recycling crisis? The discussion highlighted the pressing challenges faced by the industry and the policy measures needed to ensure its sustainability and competitiveness.

“The plastics recycling industry is not immune to the pressures of high energy prices and a lack of commitment across the value chain,” stated Sophie Sicard, President of EuRIC’s Plastics Recycling Branch (EPRB), as she opened the webinar. She pointed to weak domestic demand and the surge in imports from third countries as key factors exacerbating the crisis.

Maria Vera Duran, EuRIC’s Senior Technical Manager, presented the EU Plastic Recyclers’ Roadmap released in December, which outlines essential policy recommendations. These include, among others, establishing End-of-Waste (EoW) criteria, introducing financial incentives like lower VAT for circular materials, and adopting a risk-based approach to hazardous substances. Additionally, she stressed that the new Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) and the upcoming ban on plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries will increase the waste available for recycling in the EU, and thus, intensify the need of a strong internal market for recyclates.

The panel discussion reinforced the urgent need to align sustainability with competitiveness. Featuring insights from Judit Guerra-Falcon (Plastics Europe), Joost Schollaert (Galloo Plastics), and Mathias Bach Kirkegaard (Denmark’s Permanent Representation to the EU), the panel warned of a potential oversupply of recycled plastics by the end of 2026 and the risk of deindustralisation in Europe. The speakers emphasised the necessity of design-for-recycling principles and ambitious mandatory recycled content targets, particularly in light of the proposal for a Regulation on End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) and the Clean Industrial Deal.

EuRIC extends its gratitude to all speakers and participants for their valuable contributions to this crucial discussion. The full webinar recording is available here.

The European Recycling Conference 2025 heads to Hamburg

The European Recycling Conference (ERC) is coming to Hamburg, Germany, on 1 October 2025. This year’s edition, co-organised with EuRIC’s German members BDSV, bvse, and VDM, will explore the topic of “Building a competitive market for recycled materials”, and their critical role in delivering on the EU’s Competitiveness Compass and Clean Industrial Deal objectives.

HKRITA signs MoU with Jeanologia and Looptworks to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) yesterday officially signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two key global partners, Jeanologia and Looptworks, to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem – a first-of-its-kind collaboration to accelerate the large-scale recycling of blended textiles.

Object Carpet tests production of rPET BCF yarn on Neumag BCF line

In a joint project with Object Carpet GmbH, Denkendorf; the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA), Augsburg; and Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR), Feldkirchen, Austria, Barmag investigated the processing of recycled polyester for BCF yarn. The goal was to evaluate the fundamental suitability of 100% recycled carpet material for reuse in carpet yarn production to create a closed-loop system in carpet manufacturing. To date, commercial rPET BCF processes have been based solely on rPET from bottle pellets.

Albany International reports progress with Cyclezyme on industrial textile recycling project

Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN) reports continued progress in the ongoing project with Cyclezyme AB, a leader in advanced enzyme-based plastic recycling, based in Sweden. The project exemplifies leading edge innovation in materials science, focusing on the development of enzyme-based recycling of industrial textiles primarily consisting of polyester and polyamide, where there is currently a significant lack of effective solutions for circular material flows. The objective of the project is to establish enzymatic processes for depolymerization and recycling of technical textiles and high-performance industrial materials.

The textile industry in transition

Recycling, traceability, eco-design and digitalisation are among the key future challenges facing the European textile industry. The Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity, involving 21 partners from twelve countries, is investigating the skills required to address these challenges. As the German industry partner, the Industry Association for Finishing – Yarns – Fabrics – Technical Textiles (IVGT) is bringing the industry’s perspective to the project.

2026 general meeting of the Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen at ITA

The Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen e. V. (proRWTH) looked back on a successful year of support at their 2026 general meeting. The meeting took place at Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen and was combined with a joint session of the Executive Board and the Administrative Board. Before the general meeting began, participants were given a guided tour of ITA, providing them with fascinating insights into current research and development topics in textile engineering.

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brought together more than 300 industry leaders from 140 companies across 10 countries, including more than 45 top global brands and sourcing organizations, underscoring strong global interest in cotton-rich product development, sourcing and supply chain collaboration.

Footwear innovation enabled by warp knitting technology– insights from New Balance

The future of the athletic shoe is increasingly being shaped on warp knitting machines. For KARL MAYER, the footwear industry is one of the most important growth markets – and one of the sectors where innovative textiles can realize their full potential. In his keynote address at the opening of KARL MAYER’s TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER in Obertshausen in April, Vishnu Prakash Muthusamy, Senior Textile and Materials Engineer at New Balance, explained the opportunities that warp knitting technology opens up for performance, sustainability, and faster development processes, and why textile manufacturers are transitioning from suppliers to development partners.