INDICATOR |
2025 DATA VARIATION VS 2024 |
|
Output Volumes( Mechanical recycling only) |
~ 850,000 tonnes |
+ 2.0 % |
Total Estimated Volumes( Including ground / integrated) |
1.30- 1.40 million tonnes |
Stable |
Sector Revenue |
~ 685 million € |
-1.1% |
Surveyed Companies |
76 companies |
- |
Active Plants in the Country |
88 plants |
- |
AREA |
VALUE / DATA |
DETAIL / VARIATION |
Raw material import costs( 2025) |
~€ 600 billion |
+ 23.3 % compared to 2021( driven by geopolitical tensions and prices) |
Circular economy investments |
€ 10.2 billion |
Declining from € 13.1 billion in 2019 |
2050 emission target risk |
Up to 55 % Area at risk without effective strategies on plastics and waste |
|
AREA OF ACTION |
REGULATORY & STRATEGIC MEASURES |
OBJECTIVE / IMPACT |
1. Packaging and Recycling |
EU Packaging Regulation |
Increase recycled plastic content |
and ecodesign directives |
and recyclability at the source |
|
2. Supply Chain Regulations |
End of Waste decrees and expansion of EPR |
Create markets for secondary raw |
( Extended Producer Responsibility) |
materials, including non-packaging plastics |
|
3. Water Management |
EU wastewater treatment regulations |
Monitor and remove micropollutants |
and microplastics from the environment | ||
|
and recycled content.
2. Strategies and Regulations on Circular Supply Chains( Including Plastics) The Report highlights that specific „ End of Waste“ decrees are being prepared for plastics as well, signaling the need to develop more mature markets for secondary raw materials. Additionally, the extension of Extended Producer Responsibility( EPR) to nonpackaging plastics is foreseen, expanding the scope of circularity in the sector. These elements clearly indicate how plastics represent one of the critical supply chains for the future of European circularity. 3. Microplastics and Water Management A direct reference appears in the chapter dedicated to water management: new European regulations on wastewater treatment mandate the monitoring and removal of micropollutants and microplastics.
|
This highlights an emerging aspect: not only plastic recycling, but also managing its dispersion into the environment, which is becoming an integral part of circular policies.
A STRATEGIC NODE FOR INNOVATION A particularly significant passage in the Report indicates that without effective strategies on plastics and waste, up to 55 % of the 2050 emission reduction targets are at risk. This figure confirms the systemic weight of the sector: plastic is not just an environmental problem, but a decisive variable for the industrial and climate transition.
FROM DEPENDENCY TO“ URBAN MINES” In the current geopolitical context, circularity is increasingly interpreted as a matter of economic security. The Report emphasizes the need to harness so-called „ urban
|
mines“— materials already present in waste and end-oflife products. This also applies to plastics, which represent a significant share of urban and industrial waste and a potential reservoir of secondary raw materials. The Italian system confirms itself as one of the most advanced in Europe for recycling and resource efficiency. However, strong foreign dependency, declining investments, and difficulties in developing secondary material markets represent major obstacles. Plastics, though not always explicitly named, emerge as a strategic cross-cutting supply chain: central to packaging, crucial for industrial policies, and increasingly relevant to environmental challenges, from microplastics to climate. The future of Italian and European circularity will also— and above all— depend on the ability to truly close the loop on plastics, transforming them from a problematic waste product into a stable and competitive resource. |
Italian technology plast / October 2026 |
www. plastmagazine. it |
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