Circular economy

Recycled plastics: increasing production in 2024 (+3.2%), but decreasing turnover

Despite 882,000 tonnes of recycled polymers, companies' revenues suffer at EUR 690 million (-0.8%): Assorimap data

29 May 2025

2' min read

Key points

Growing Pet
Sector numbers
The first closures.

2' min read

Despite 883,000 tonnes of recycled polymer production (+3.2% compared to 2023), Italy's mechanical plastics recycling sector is struggling to take off: turnover is down (-0.8%, EUR 690 million) and raw material prices are at their lowest since 2020.

This is what emerges from the Report Assorimap (national association of plastics recyclers and regenerators, member of Confimi Industria), a study on the plastics mechanical recycling industry in 2024, carried out by Plastic Consult, which analyses trends, criticalities and opportunities of a key sector for the ecological transition.

Petamong the various materials, recycled Pet is doing well, exceeding 230.000 tonnes registering a +17.2% compared to 2023, driven by the EU regulations on bottle to bottle (which requires a recycling in which used Pet plastic bottles are transformed into new ones). This growth goes against the trend compared to other polymers, which are declining, penalised by falling sales prices and competition from virgin polymers.

Looking at the various sectors of use, both rigid and flexible packaging are driving demand,' comments Paolo Arcelli, director of Plastic Consult: 'Construction is holding up despite the difficulties on the domestic market. On the opposite front, housewares and garden, agriculture and niche applications, register significant declines".

Sector numbers

The sector consists of 350 active companies, including waste and industrial waste collectors and sorters, of which more than 240 are producers of secondary raw materials. There are 86 plants specialising in post-consumer plastics: Lombardy leads the ranking (with 37% of the plants), while the South (23%) follows the country's consumption trend.

The first closures

The Italian supply chain is fragile, 'it has been surviving for years, but between 2024 and 2025 the first closures have arrived: two companies,' reveals Walter Regis, president of Assorimap. The problem is in the costs: electricity will skyrocket to 135 euros per MWh by the end of 2024 and feedstock will become increasingly expensive. But not only that. Europe has doubled its recycled production capacity since 2016, but low-cost imports - especially from Asia and North Africa - invade the market, often without guarantees of traceability.

"It is urgent to intervene with concrete instruments. We call for a European certification system, specific customs codes to distinguish recycled and virgin, and above all the economic recognition of the environmental value of recycling, through mechanisms similar to Emission Trading,' Regis adds.

Cutting emissions

Studies confirm the companies' potential: each tonne of recycled plastic avoids between 1.1 and 3.6 tonnes of CO₂ compared to incineration, landfill or virgin production. "On a national scale, this would translate into 7.2 million tonnes of CO₂ saved annually, equal to the entire Pniec target for waste management to 2040," reads a note from Assorimap.

"Plastics recycling is a sector that is ready to contribute to decarbonisation and climate goals. But without a regulatory framework that recognises its environmental value, we risk squandering this opportunity for the economy and the environment," Regis concludes.

Brand connect

I prossimi eventi

Tutti gli eventi

Notizie e approfondimenti sugli avvenimenti politici, economici e finanziari.

Economy