What we recycle

Plastics

Plastics are composed of polymers i.e., compounds made of many small molecules.

Ferrous metals

Ferrous metals, primarily composed of iron, include materials like steel and cast iron, which are commonly found in construction, manufacturing, and transportation.

Non-Ferrous metals

Non-ferrous metals, such as aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, and titanium, do not contain iron and are valued for their resistance to corrosion and high conductivity.

Paper

Recycled paper is a versatile material that can replace or supplement virgin pulp to create new products like packaging, newspapers, and insulation.

Textiles

Textiles, including both synthetic fibers like polyester and natural fibers like cotton, are integral to daily life, with global production nearly tripling since 1975.

Tyres

Tyres contain multiple valuable materials such as rubber (75%), steel (15%) and textile fibres (10%).

Construction & Demolition

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste includes materials like concrete, bricks, wood, metals, glass, plastics, and hazardous substances such as asbestos.

End-of-life Vehicles

End-of-life Vehicles (ELVs) contain valuable materials like metals (steel, aluminum), plastics, rubber, and glass, as well as batteries.

E-waste

E-waste, otherwise referred to as waste electronical and electronic equipment (WEEE), is mainly composed of non-ferrous metals (nickel, copper, lead, etc.

Ships

End-of-life ships are decommissioned vessels that contain valuable materials like steel, metals, and electronics, along with hazardous substances such as asbestos, oils, and toxic chemicals.

Who we are

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Joint Letter: Industry and businesses call for timely and effective implementation of the PPWR

Ursula von der Leyen – President of the European CommissionRoberta Metsola – President of the European ParliamentAntónio Costa – President of the European Council Cc:Teresa Ribera – Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Clean, Justand Competitive TransitionStéphane Séjourné – Executive Vice-President of the European Commission forProsperity and Industrial StrategyJessika Roswall – Commissioner for Environment, […]

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Stronger markets and smarter rules key to Europe’s clean transition through e-waste circularity

Brussels, 28 May 2026 – Unlocking the full potential of e-waste circularity will be essential for Europe’s clean transition, industry leaders, policymakers and recyclers concluded this week at Recycling Europe’s high-level event “Securing Europe’s clean transition through e-waste circularity”. Discussions highlighted the need for stronger markets, smarter rules, better product design, efficient EPR systems and […]

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Letter: Joint call to consider EU recyclers’ concerns on potential recycled aluminium export measures

Dear Executive Vice‑President Séjourné, Dear Commissioner Šefčovič, As the EU explores options to reinforce industrial competitiveness and material security, any policy must be grounded in facts and the realities of the full aluminium value chain. In this context, the undersigned associations and recycling companies wish to raise serious concerns about any consideration of export restrictions […]

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Press Release – Recycling Europe, EUROFER, and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform urge the EU to put a stop to the double standards in the shipbreaking sector

As the European Commission is currently working on reviewing technical guidance for third-country shipbreaking facilities, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, EUROFER and Recycling Europe call for a clear ban of beaching and landing methods and the guarantee of a real level playing field for the ship recycling sector. Following their initial joint statement calling to boost […]

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Recycling Europe Tyres’ policy recommendations on how to unlock circularity through tyre ecodesign

Introduction The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) establishes a framework to improve the environmental sustainability of products placed on the EU market, via setting design requirements. In this context, the ecodesign of tyres is of vital importance for circularity in the tyre value chain. Tyres are complex products with long value chains, and design […]

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Recycling Europe brings fast-fashion and textile circularity crisis to the spotlight at IFAT 2026

Brussels, 8 May 2026 – At IFAT Munich 2026 this week, Recycling Europe and bvse brought together policymakers, industry leaders and circular economy experts for the high-level panel discussion “Fast fashion, slow progress? Scaling EU circularity in textiles”, placing the growing crisis facing Europe’s textile recycling and circularity systems firmly at the centre of the […]

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Maintaining adequate aid intensities is essential to deliver Europe’s Circular Economy objectives

Recycling Europe welcomes the revision of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) as an opportunity to better align state aid rules with the EU’s circular economy, industrial, and climate objectives. To be effective, the revised framework must fully recognise the strategic role of recycling in delivering decarbonisation, resource security, and competitiveness in the EU. However, […]

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Open Letter to Jessika Roswall: Advancing End-of-Waste Criteria for Recovered Paper

To the kind attention of: Ms Jessika ROSWALLCommissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Brussels, 24 April 2026 Advancing End-of-Waste Criteria for Recovered Paper Dear Commissioner Jessika Roswall, On behalf of Recycling Europe, we would like to draw your attention to the urgent need to establish EU-wide end-of-waste (EoW) criteria for recovered […]

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Recycling Europe’s position on the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA)

Recycling Europe welcomes the Commission’s objective to strengthen the EU industry and to stimulate demand for low-carbon products through the creation of lead markets under the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA). Incentivising circularity and recycling is a key tool to reach these objectives. However, in its current form, the proposal fails to recognise the role of […]

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