Recycled plastics should be recognised “as a strategic, sustainable raw material” that creates a more resilient economy, not “a temporary solution when virgin materials become expensive”, Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) plastics division president, Henk Alssema of Netherlands-based Inviplast BV, told delegates at the world organization’s first joint meeting between its plastics division and its tires & rubber committee.
“If customers only buy recycled material when the virgin prices are high, we create a very dangerous situation for our industry,” he said.
In recent months, the plastics recycling sector across the globe has experienced a turnaround, with increased demand and stronger order books, following a challenging couple of years of low prices, an abundance of cheap virgin material and plant closures. This change in fortunes is mainly owing to the sharp increase in virgin material prices because of the conflict in the Middle East, which in turn has driven demand for recycled materials.
Now recycled plastics are increasingly seen as a valuable and strategic part of raw material supply chains. But if buyers don’t continue to use this material when the markets eventually stabilize, they could lose this supply option, as seen with the plant closures of recent years. “Our message is very simple today: use it or lose it,” Alssema said.
“If we want enough recycling capacity in the future, we need stable demand today,” he continued. “Recyclers need long-term commitments to justify investments in new equipment, innovation, quality systems and traceability.” Policy support is also important. “Without strong and stable obligations, demand for recycled material will continue to depend on oil prices and geopolitical events,” he noted. “With clear policies, companies can invest with confidence and build for the future.”
According to BIR tires & rubber committee chairman Max Craipeau of Hong Kong-based Greencore Resources, the market upturn for recycled rubber mirrors that of recycled plastics, and for the same reasons. Both sectors face similar issues and both benefit from positioning as a “strategic” material. If brands rely solely on primary material, said Craipeau, “they’re definitely in trouble when you have geopolitical issues happening”. A strong advocate of minimum recycled content mandates, he said these measures must be in place to create demand.
Turning to South East Asia where he operates a PET recycling plant in Indonesia, Craipeau said the issues in the Strait of Hormuz have reduced the typical oil inflows into the market, especially to Asia, by around 20 percent. This has benefited secondary materials, with recyclate prices increasing 15 to 20 percent and back in line with levels that made operations sustainable.
But he warned that, while the current situation means customers are “coming to us to beg for more material”, they “tend to have a short memory”. He reminded the audience that, during the COVID pandemic, there was much talk about securing more recycled material but, after a couple of years, “that momentum disappeared”.
But security of supply is important for brands, and the current Middle East crisis is proving that point, Craipeau commented. “The Strait of Hormuz might just be the tip of the iceberg if a conflict between the US and China arises, for example, in the future,” he warned. “So, brands should stop having short memories and secure long-term contracts if they want to keep their products on the shelves.”
Executive director of the PET Recycling Corp. of California, Sally Houghton said recycling is used as a “salve” to address the anti-plastic sentiment of voters in California, and she is sometimes “flabbergasted” in her conversations with policy-makers about how little they know or understand about the plastics recycling industry.
California does have positive policy measures in place which include a requirement to have 50 percent recycled content in bottles by 2030 – and this supports demand for recyclate. A similar measure is not in place for packaging, which means packaging producers abandoned recyclate for cheaper virgin material and have started coming back to recycled material only in recent times. But an extended producer responsibility bill has now been passed in the state that will require 100 percent recyclability of packaging, design for recycling and a 65 percent recycling rate – measures that give recyclers confidence.
As such policy measures increasingly come into play, the need for more closed-loop recycling solutions should increase.
Published November 2026
