Belgium Plastics: Recycling Up 60%, Competitiveness Down

European plastics market Belgium's plastics sector recycles more but loses competitiveness

2026-10-19 Source: Belga News Agency 1 min Reading Time

Related Vendors

HASCO Hasenclever GmbH + Co KG

Jongen Werkzeugtechnik GmbH

CUMSA

Belgium's plastics sector has seen its recycling rate surge by 60 percent in six years, but is facing a marked loss of competitiveness, with production down 14 percent since 2018, according to a joint report published by the industry federations Agoria, essenscia and Denuo.

According to the report, Belgium has already met the European recycling targets for 2030 for plastic packaging and construction materials. (Source: Belga) — According to the report, Belgium has already met the European recycling targets for 2030 for plastic packaging and construction materials.
(Source: Belga)

Belgium is Europe's second-largest producer of polymers, behind Germany. It ranks seventh in Europe for plastics processing. With a recycling rate of 41.3 percent, it also ranks second in Europe, just behind Spain.

According to the report, Belgium has already met the European recycling targets for 2030 for plastic packaging and construction materials. There, less than 2 percent of plastics go to landfill, compared with 21.5 per cent across the European Union.

These positive results nevertheless contrast sharply with the reality facing the sector. Belgian plastics production has fallen by 14 percent since 2018, with particularly steep declines in the automotive-related sector (-28 per cent) and packaging (-17 percent). At the same time, the industry is facing fierce competition from Asia, reflected in a sharp rise in imports of polymers (+41 percent) and plastic products (+87 percent).

To maintain the strategic position of a sector that employs more than 30,000 people and generates 4.9 billion euros in added value, the federations are calling for a more supportive regulatory framework. They highlight the need to invest in new recycling technologies (mechanical, physical and chemical) to process waste that is still mostly (57 percent) used for energy recovery with heat capture. They are also calling for a unified European waste market.

(ID:50990474)

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta).

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.