The Belgian plastic packaging recycling sector has undergone significant development in recent years. According to Fost Plus, six new recycling plants have been added in Belgium over the past five years. The organisation states that, today, more than half of the plastic packaging collected through the Belgian collection scheme is also processed in Belgium.
This development is taking place against a challenging European backdrop. Whilst Belgium is adding new recycling capacity, Plastics Recyclers Europe reports that around 300,000 tonnes of European recycling capacity was shut down in 2024. Among other things, the sector is struggling with high operating costs and competition from newly produced plastics and cheap imports.
One example of the investments in Belgium is the new recycling plant operated by Morssinkhof Rymoplast in Lommel. This plant processes packaging made from polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), including, for example, butter tubs and shampoo bottles, and has a capacity of 24,000 tonnes per year. Other recycling technologies are also gaining a foothold in the Belgian market. For example, in the Port of Antwerp, used polystyrene packaging is processed via chemical recycling into raw materials that can be reused.
However, greater recycling capacity does not automatically mean that all collected packaging can be reused as raw material. The final outcome depends on various factors: the composition and quality of the collected materials, the capabilities of sorting and recycling facilities, the quality of the recycled material produced, and market demand.
Packaging design also plays an important role in this. Packaging must not only be theoretically recyclable; it must also be compatible with the collection, sorting and recycling systems available in practice. As European regulations continue to evolve, this alignment between packaging design and the existing recycling infrastructure is becoming increasingly important.
Furthermore, in the coming years, the PPWR will impose additional requirements regarding the recyclability of packaging and the use of recycled materials. The further development of recycling capacity is therefore one of the factors that will help determine how these objectives can be achieved in practice.
The investments made in Belgium already demonstrate that the recycling infrastructure for plastic packaging is evolving. At the same time, the entire supply chain remains important: from design and choice of materials to collection, sorting, recycling and the use of the recycled material.
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