Brand owners scale back voluntary recycled-plastic targets, Alpla says

Some brand owners are cutting their voluntary recycled-content targets sharply, from 50% down to 30% or even zero, as recyclate costs remain high, according to Georg Lässer, Alpla's director of business development, procurement and sales recycling. He said many companies are betting that the EU will weaken the PPWR's mandatory 2030 recycled-content minimums when it reviews the regulation in 2028, and that the pullback from voluntary goals is already stripping several thousand tonnes of demand from the recycling market.

Why this mattersA retreat from voluntary recycled-content commitments weakens recyclate demand and investment signals ahead of the PPWR's binding 2030 thresholds.

• Some brand owners are cutting voluntary recycled-content targets from 50% to 30% or to zero, per Alpla
• Alpla cites high costs of plastic recyclate as the driver
• Alpla executive Georg Lässer says companies are betting the EU will soften PPWR's 2030 mandatory recycled-content minimums during its planned 2028 review
• Lässer says the retreat from voluntary targets already removes demand of several thousand tonnes from the recycling market

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