EU sets accounting rules for chemically recycled PET in bottles
The European Commission has adopted an Implementing Decision establishing a harmonised mass-balance methodology for calculating, verifying and reporting chemically recycled PET content in single-use beverage bottles under the Single-Use Plastics Directive. The rules exclude fuel-use outputs and processing losses from recycled-content claims and require annual third-party verification, initially limited to material produced within the EU and EEA, widening to OECD countries from 21 November 2027. Environmental group Zero Waste Europe has criticised the framework for legitimising chemical recycling ahead of wider PPWR policy discussions.
Why this mattersStandardised verification is expected to unlock investment in chemical recycling capacity and strengthen demand for recycled PET across Europe's beverage packaging value chain.
- The Implementing Decision covers chemically recycled PET used in single-use plastic beverage bottles under the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive
- Mass-balance accounting is adopted as the methodology for allocating recycled content across multiple outputs of chemical recycling
- Plastic waste converted into fuels or lost as processing waste is excluded from recycled-content calculations
- Annual third-party verification is mandatory for the most technically complex recycling stages
- Eligibility is initially limited to EU/EEA-produced material, expanding to OECD countries from 21 November 2027
- Zero Waste Europe criticised the framework for legitimising chemical recycling ahead of wider PPWR policy discussions