EPRC reports 76.4 percent European paper recycling rate for 2025

The European Paper Recycling Council reports a 76.4 percent recycling rate for all paper products across 30 European countries in 2025, broadly stable on the prior year as both collection and consumption volumes fell by similar margins. Paperboard packaging led material categories at an 86.6 percent EU recycling rate, ahead of metal, glass and plastic packaging, while Chinese demand for European recovered paper has fallen close to zero, replaced by buyers in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.

Why this mattersThe benchmark data underpins recycled-content and recyclability targets under PPWR and shows fibre packaging far outperforming plastic on circularity, reinforcing substrate-switch arguments for brand owners.

• EPRC calculated a 76.4 percent recycling rate for all paper products across 30 European countries in 2025
• Total paper and board collected and recycled fell 0.3 percent year on year to 53.9 million tonnes in 2025
• Consumption of paper and board in the EPRC region fell 0.4 percent to 70.5 million tonnes
• Paperboard packaging reached an 86.6 percent EU recycling rate, ahead of metal at 77.2 percent, glass at 74.9 percent and plastic packaging at 41.7 percent
• A net 7.5 million tonnes, 14 percent of total collection, was exported outside the 30-nation study region in 2025, with India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand as key importers
• 20 of the 30 surveyed countries sustain recycling rates above 70 percent

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