Europe’s recyclers cry for help in energy crisis

The dramatic jump in energy prices has forced European recycling companies to reduce or entirely suspend production, says the European Recycling Industries Confederation (EuRIC). The organisation urges policy makers ‘to enact immediate financial aid’ to prevent significant long-term damage to European recycling.

‘Recycling is an intricate process that operates uninterrupted seven days a week,’ says EuRIC president says Olivier François. ‘We cannot simply turn our production on and off like a light switch. Europe’s recyclers are unable to cope with soaring energy costs and this poses a direct threat to Europe’s climate neutral and circular economy ambitions and to the green local jobs we sustain.’

The recycling industry body also stresses that while the recycling industry has grown steadily in Europe, driven largely by vibrant entrepreneurship and incentives to use more recycled materials in products, only 12% of materials used in production in the EU come from recycling. ‘Mounting energy prices are now reversing this progress, bringing recycling companies and particularly SMEs, to their knees’.

EuRIC stresses that recycling not only saves significant CO2 emissions but also energy when compared to extracted raw materials. ‘Therefore, we urge European policymakers to act coherently to incentivise the use of recycled materials through implementation of carbon credits, green public procurement and binding recycled content targets.’