Swiss recycling technology for the global market
Europe – strong legislation and ambitious goals
The European Union is pursuing a comprehensive and ambitious Plastics Strategy, which is part of its Circular Economy Action Plan. The goal is to make the entire life cycle of plastics more sustainable – from design and production to recycling. This includes, among other things, mandatory requirements for recycled content in packaging and stricter rules for reducing single-use plastics. The EU aims to recycle at least 55 percent of plastic packaging waste by 2030. Numerous member states are approaching this target. already today or even exceed these figures, for example Belgium or Latvia with rates of nearly 60 percent.
Technological Innovation and Challenges
Europe has not only set itself the most ambitious recycling targets, it is also one of the world's leading regions in this area. chemical recyclingwhich can also process more complex plastic streams. Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom are among the largest markets for this technology. Despite significant progress, the European recycling industry is under pressure: Europe's share of global plastic production has been declining for years. Many plants have closed due to low demand for recyclates or cheap plastic imports.
Why we are particularly active in Europe
Europe is considered a leading, rules-based region with high ambitions in legislation, the circular economy, and recycling infrastructure. This environment creates ideal conditions for companies like enespa: Growing environmental awareness among industry and consumers meets clearly defined regulatory requirements – a dynamic of push and pull factors that drives innovation and investment equally. Against this backdrop, the commissioning of our plant in Lahti, Finland (the "Karhu" project) is imminent. Located in one of Europe's most advanced regions in terms of both industry and recycling technology, this project is our entry ticket into the Nordic market.
North America – Engagement and Fragmentation
North America is one of the most important markets for plastics recycling, accounting for an estimated 38 percent of the global industrial recycling market. Progress is being made in both mechanical and chemical recycling technologies. Initiatives such as the US Plastics Pact connect companies, NGOs, and municipalities to promote a circular economy and increase collection and recycling rates (e.g., through EPR systems, deposit return schemes, etc.).
Regionality and challenges
Recycling infrastructure varies significantly from region to region. Many smaller communities operate with deposit systems or incentive programs. At the same time, challenges arise from the low cost of virgin plastics and the lack of nationwide standards. The Trump administration itself emphasizes that environmental issues (including waste management) should be addressed by the Responsibility of individuals, companies or individual states should be regulated instead of being broadly regulated at the federal level.
Why the US market remains important for enespa
Our commitment in the United States also aims to strengthen regional activities. Enespa has a presence at two locations: Winnie, Texas, and Dade City, Florida. Our technological solutions in the field of chemical recycling meet a real and growing need here – for example, the large quantities of agricultural film in Florida that are currently burned in fields.
South America – Development and Cooperation
Several South American countries are developing diverse recycling programs – often in conjunction with social initiatives. For example, in... Plastic Bank Collection and recycling ecosystems in Brazil and other emerging economies collect plastic and exchange it for goods or services to improve both the environment and local living conditions. Other countries are implementing extended producer responsibility (EPR) and integrating informal collectors into formal recycling chains, which has been proven to improve recycling rates.
Despite capacity expansion, there is still a large backlog of work to catch up.
South America's waste and recycling infrastructure is growing, but remains limited compared to Europe and North America – both technically and politically. At the same time, large countries like Argentina and Chile are developing their first specific strategies for circular economies.
Focus firmly on South America's growth opportunities
In summary, it remains clear that South America is an emerging region with heterogeneous, often locally organized activities. Emerging economies like Brazil offer the greatest immediate growth opportunities. Against this backdrop, our project, which will be based at the prestigious [event name] at the end of 2025, is also [relevant/relevant]. COPPE Engineering Institute The pilot plant, commissioned by the University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), can be seen – as a beacon for the South American market.
Australia & Oceania – strong initiatives in early stages
Over the years, Australia has implemented soft plastics programs (e.g., REDcycle), deposit return schemes, and take-back solutions to promote recycling. However, many of these programs have structural limitations or have been discontinued or redesigned because they were not economically viable.
Current initiatives are showing results
Voluntary programs such as “Return and Earn“Initiatives that incentivize citizens to collect beverage containers through refunds have achieved record collection results. This demonstrates strong public engagement and a growing awareness of recycling. Despite various programs, Australia’s plastic recycling rate remains low compared to many European countries.”
Early engagement with growth potential
enespa became involved early on with its local partner Plastoil in Australia. In 2025, together with APR (Australian Paper Recovery), we were able to commission a NeoOil T5 plastic-to-oil prototype plant in Maddingley, in the state of Victoria – our Project «Wallaby»This makes us one of the pioneers of plastics recycling Down Under.
Global perspective – insufficient progress and hopeful signals
Global analyses show that less than 10% of all plastic waste is recycled worldwide. The rest is landfilled, incinerated, or ends up in the environment – with significant regional differences. Europe and Asia account for the largest share of recycled plastic waste.
International cooperation and local action
Demands for a UN agreement against plastic pollution Joint OECD efforts are currently the subject of intensive discussions. However, they also highlight the complexity of cross-border solutions. For us at enespa, this is less a reason to wait and more a call to action.
enespa – from Europe to the world
Following the successful completion of our development phase, we now possess the necessary technologies in the field of advanced recycling to meet growing customer demand. Ongoing projects in Europe and America, recent successes in Brazil and Australia, and planned activities in Africa (Morocco) impressively demonstrate that enespa is growing globally and making a significant contribution to solving a worldwide problem.
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