The European Commission has adopted new EU-wide rules for calculating, verifying and reporting the recycled content of single-use plastic drinks bottles made mainly from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), including content produced through chemical recycling.
The methodology is being introduced for the first time and is designed to be used across recycling technologies, including both chemical and mechanical recycling, the Commission informed in a statement on Tuesday.
Mechanical recycling — which typically involves sorting, cleaning, shredding and remoulding plastic into new products — remains the most widely used approach, according to the Commission.
It added that some plastic waste streams cannot be effectively recycled mechanically, such as waste contaminated with food residues or made up of mixed materials.
Chemical recycling, by contrast, breaks plastics down into smaller molecules that can be reused as raw materials for new plastics or other chemicals.
This can be used for waste streams that are harder to handle mechanically and for products that must meet high-quality standards, including food-contact packaging.
How recycled content will be counted
In an initial phase, only recycled plastic material from the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries will count towards EU recycled-content targets, where compliance with EU environmental rules can be fully verified, the Commission said.
From 21 November 2027, recycled plastic from OECD countries will also count, unless excluded under the EU Waste Shipment Regulation.
Material from non-OECD countries can count when it is covered by arrangements that ensure equivalent standards for human health and environmental protection.
Recycled content will count towards EU targets only when it is based on “credible, traceable and environmentally sound standards.”
The Commission said the implementing act setting out the rules will be published in the EU’s Official Journal and will enter into force 20 days later.
The proposal was backed by member states’ representatives at a meeting of the Waste Technical Adaptation Committee in February 2026, and was notified to the World Trade Organization.
