The use of circular materials in the EU increased by just 0.3pc in 2023 compared with 2022, according to Eurostat data.
The 27 EU countries reported an average of 11.8pc for circular material use rate compared with 11.5pc in 2022. The Netherlands reported the highest rate of circular material use with 30.6pc, up from 27.2pc in 2022. Italy was the next highest, with 20.8pc recorded in 2023.
Eurostat also released data on the amount of recyclable plastic waste raw material imported into the EU in 2023, with a decrease seen on the year. A total of 754,525t were recorded imported in 2023, down from 817,668t in 2022. Sweden was the largest importer in 2023, receiving 158,340t, closely followed by the Netherlands, which imported 147,460t. The EU exported 1.325mn t of recyclable plastic waste raw material in 2023, up from 1.116mn t the year before. Germany was the largest exporter, shipping 312,000t of plastic compared with 277,000t in Germany. The Netherlands was the second largest exporter of recyclable plastic waste, shipping 282,000t.
