The European Paper Recycling Council (EPRC) has calculated a 76.4 percent recycling rate for paper products in 2025, covering graphic paper, packaging and tissue across the 30 nations it surveys.

The Brussels-based organization describes the rate as stable, saying the figure confirms "the robustness and maturity of Europe's paper recycling system" and signals "a balanced and resilient market."

"The stable recycling rate reflects the long-standing commitment of the paper industry and its partners to circularity," the EPRC states. "For decades, stakeholders across the value chain have worked together to build and maintain efficient collection, sorting and recycling systems, creating the conditions for a well-functioning market for paper for recycling, where supply and demand remain closely aligned."

The numbers behind the rate

The EPRC computes its recycling rate as the ratio between the recycling of used paper — including net trade of paper for recycling (PfR) — and the consumption of new paper and board.

Total paper and board collected and recycled in the European paper sector fell 0.3 percent year on year to 53.9 million metric tons (mmt) in 2025. Consumption of paper and board across the EPRC region dropped 0.4 percent to 70.5 mmt over the same period.

Because consumption and recycling volumes declined at nearly identical rates, the percentage rate held steady. The EPRC attributes the reliable circular flow of material across the value chain to consistent collection volumes and steady demand from paper mills.

Export flows reshape the trade picture

On the recovered paper export side, a net volume of 7.5 mmt — 14 percent of the 53.9 mmt total collection — moved outside the 30-nation study region in 2025.

The destination mix has shifted dramatically. "The formerly high Chinese demand for European PfR has decreased to levels close to zero," the EPRC states. "The key importers of European PfR [in 2025] were India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand."

Southeast and South Asian mills now anchor European export demand, a structural change from the pre-import-restriction era when China absorbed the bulk of European recovered fiber.

Europe's position in the packaging rankings

The EPRC describes Europe as continuing to lead globally in paper recycling, maintaining its position as the region with the highest recycling rates worldwide.

Twenty of the 30 countries it surveys sustain recycling rates above 70 percent.

Within packaging, paperboard leads all competing materials. The EPRC's monitoring report puts paperboard packaging at an 86.6 percent recycling rate as a European Union average for 2025, followed by metal packaging at 77.2 percent, glass at 74.9 percent and plastic packaging trailing at 41.7 percent — a gap of nearly 45 percentage points between the top and bottom packaging material streams.

The 12-page EPRC report draws its continent-wide figures from the 27 EU member states plus Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

What comes next

Looking ahead, the EPRC says maintaining Europe's market equilibrium will require "continuing efforts to improve collection systems, enhance recyclability and promote eco-design."

"Innovation and cooperation across the value chain will remain key to sustaining performance and meeting future challenges," the organization concludes. "The European paper industry remains committed to maintaining high recycling rates and strengthening circularity across all paper products."

The rate's stability amid falling absolute tonnages frames the question for 2026: whether collection systems and mill demand can hold the balance as European paper and board consumption continues to contract. The EPRC's next monitoring report will show whether the 76 percent plateau holds or erodes.