Advanced Recycling Is Opening the Door to PCR Content in EU Policy

Advanced Recyclingis seen as a solution for hard-to-recycle plastic waste. However, outputs from advanced recycling have not always been recognized as Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) content in EU regulatory frameworks.

So why hasn’t advanced recycling always been recognized as PCR content?

Mainly due to several policy gaps: • Traceability concerns — ensuring recycled content can be tracked through complex petrochemical value chains • No agreed calculation methodology — especially when using mass balance accounting • Legal classification debates — some frameworks historically placed these processes closer to recovery than recycling • Policy prioritization of mechanical recycling — the most established pathway

What’s changing now?

As of 2024–2025, the EU policy landscape is evolving, with advanced recycling increasingly recognized, meaning its outputs may contribute to recycled content targets under upcoming regulations. A key milestone came from the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive, where the European Commission introduced mass balance rules for calculating chemically recycled content in plastic packaging. Another signal is the upcoming EU End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Regulation, which introduces mandatory recycled plastic content targets in vehicles (15–25%) and allows chemically recycled plastics to count toward these targets using a mass-balance approach.

However, one key step is still pending ...

Final approval of broader calculation and verification rules, particularly for mass balance attribution, which are still under discussion.

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