Plastics Europe just released a European analysis on the “Circular Economy of Plastics. This report reveals some important outcomes regarding Belgium.

The recycling rate in Belgium in 2022 reached 39%, a result that brings Belgium on the first place in Europe for this category, especially counting that the average in Europe is 27%.

Important to take into consideration regarding the packaging world is that more than 1 of 2 plastic packaging (56%) is recycled.

Belgian plastic recycling it’s a rising industry in the European landscape. With the 39% Belgium doubled in 2022 it’s plastic recycling rate compared to a decade ago.

59% of the plastic waste is processed in thermal power plants where the energy is recovered.

Another important data on plastic recycling in Belgium refers to the percentage of the material that ends up in the landfills of the country, which is 2%, a low value that shows the effort of the industry.

One of the reasons why there has been in the last year an important increase in terms of recycling is the blue bags, in which almost all household’s plastic packaging can be collected for recycling.

Over the past four years, there has been a 54% increase in the utilization of recycled material in new applications in Belgium. However, this rate still falls slightly below the European average. The reason behind this lies in the predominant role of Belgian plastics processors in manufacturing packaging for food, which traditionally prohibits the use of mechanically recycled plastic material, except for recycled PET. To address this limitation, emerging recycling technologies like chemical and physical recycling offer promising solutions.

A crucial step for the plastic recycling industry is the progress in the European legislation and the recognition of mass balance allocation for assigning recycled content.

Members advantage: Are you a member of IBE-BVI and you would like to receive Plastics Europe’s report “Circular Economy of Plastics”? Click here!