The winners of the Plastics Recycling Awards Europe 2026 have been announced, with Plastics News publishing this year's category recipients.

The annual program, organized by Plastics News, recognizes companies, technologies, and products advancing plastics recovery and recyclate use across the European market. Categories typically span mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, recycled-content product design, and recycling machinery innovation, though the full breakdown of this year's slate is detailed in Plastics News' coverage.

What the awards cover

Plastics Recycling Awards Europe has run as an industry-recognition platform aimed at surfacing commercial-scale solutions for post-consumer and post-industrial plastic streams. Winners are typically drawn from converters, recyclers, brand owners, and equipment suppliers operating within the EU regulatory framework, which has tightened recycled-content targets under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

The 2026 edition arrives against a backdrop of soft virgin polymer prices, margin pressure on mechanical recyclers, and continued investment in pyrolysis and depolymerization capacity. Recognition in this category has increasingly been used by recipients to anchor capital-raising, offtake negotiations, and compliance positioning for upcoming PPWR deadlines.

Where the full list sits

Plastics News has published the complete list of category winners, including company names, project locations, and technology descriptions. Circular Wire readers seeking the operating details — tonnages processed, facility jurisdictions, recycled-content percentages, and product specifications tied to each winning entry — should consult the original Plastics News announcement.

The publication of the 2026 winners closes one recognition cycle and opens the next, with submissions for subsequent editions typically opening later in the calendar year.