In recent years, the recycled plastics market is shifting from low-cost alternatives to high-quality recycling promoted by environmental protection and carbon reduction. Argus interviewed Guo Jiawan, chairman of Guangxi Guolong, and Arnold Wang, founder of Shichai Environment, on the following topics before the Second International Rigid Polyolefin Recycling Summit hosted by Shichai Environment:
- Prospects of China’s recycled plastics exports
- Food contact applications of recycled plastics
- EU’s “mirror-clause” in the Single Use Plastics Directive, etc
How much demand do you see from export markets for your products, what are the key export markets, and for which products and end-use applications (rPET, rHDPE, rPP, Packaging grades)?
Guo: The application of recycled plastics in the packaging market is mainly driven by the demand from international brands. Large brands use environmentally friendly recycled products as a way to actively fulfill their social responsibility and promote the recycling and utilization of waste plastics through their actions. In the Chinese market, international brands have been testing and trialing small batches of recycled plastics over the past two years. In the Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau markets, they have begun to introduce recycled plastic packaging products. Many international brands also have production sites in China, and their export products have started to use recycled plastics. In the personal care sector, they primarily use rHDPE and rPP, while in food packaging, rPET is the main material, all of which must meet food-grade requirements and obtain FDA or EFSA certification.
Most participants are focusing on food contact recycled materials, but China currently does not allow recyclates to be used in food-contact applications. In such a situation, how should Chinese recyclers develop their business? Would pyrolysis be an appropriate approach for Chinese recyclers to look towards?
Wang: Currently, the main applications for high-value products from Chinese PET recycling enterprises are textile fibers, industrial yarns, and other non-food grade uses. Food-grade rPET products can also meet specific needs in personal care products, and other food-grade rPET supplies include exports to Hong Kong and overseas markets.
Pyrolysis is still in the exploratory stage in China, and several commercial projects have been announced this year, but their operation will take some time and still requires market validation. On August 27-28 this year, we will have an International Rigid Polyolefin Recycling Summit in Shanghai, which will include topics related to chemical recycling and pyrolysis. Those who are interested are welcome to follow and participate.
The EU is mulling a “mirror-clause” in the Single Use Plastics Directive which would mean that recyclers from outside the EU that are sending material to the EU to count towards our recycled content targets will be held to the same feedstock, process and environmental targets as European recyclers. How do you expect this to develop and do you see any impact on your business?
Guo: [Complying with EU standards] is not difficult for Guolong Recycled Plastics, because the process technology, production equipment and environmental standards of Guolong are the same as those in Europe, as is the the use of PCR materials.
Over the past few years, Guolong have passed various tests, factory inspections, and production environment assessments required by more than twenty international brand companies, and safely met their requirements. But, if the EU pushes this policy, it might implement certification permits through factory inspections under a case-by-case basis, which might impose certain restrictions on many other recycling enterprises in China.
What is Guolong's future development target, and does Guolong plan to invest in chemical recycling in the near future?
Guo: After ten years of development, Guolong has now established sizeable capacity for producing recyclates for a range of different end-uses (see table). We have successfully implemented a business model that spans the entire industrial chain, encompassing both food-grade and industrial-grade products. Currently the company has no concrete expansion plans for the future.
| Recycling type | Capacity (t/yr) |
| Food-grade rPET | 60,000 |
| Food-grade rHDPE | 20,000 |
| Food-grade rPP | 20,000 |
| Pipe grade recyclates | 80,000 |
| Industrial grade rHDPE | 20,000 |
Do you expect to see a market start to develop for recyclates into the food packaging market in China in the near future (i.e. a change of regulation) and what other regulatory changes in China do you expect that could support the recycling industry?
Wang: China is currently researching the safety of using recycled materials in packaging applications, which includes not only recycled plastics but also recycled metals, such as whether recycled aluminum can be used for cans. The local market is also awaiting the issuance of relevant documents.
Presently, the government has introduced various policies such as the "trade-in" policy and the reverse invoicing policy, which have all promoted the expansion of the recycling industry. These allow recyclers to issue invoices to their waste suppliers (rather than the other way around), to enable recyclers to claim a VAT deduction even when the waste seller they are working with is too small to issue invoices. Government policy may also be directed towards waste classification in the future, this could be the direction for future government policy.
Of course, establishing a complete recycling system requires more implementation strategies and more time to explore development paths and undertake construction.
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Q&A: Huntsman sees stronger 2026 on US, China recovery
Q&A: Huntsman sees stronger 2026 on US, China recovery
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That created a lot of volatility and questioning in the US economy. In 2026, I don't expect that same tariff-related uncertainty. I think the waters have settled, and people have adjusted to interest rates. They may even decline a little, or at least stop rising. So overall, I expect the business environment in 2026 to be better than in 2025. Huntsman cited pricing pressure across the portfolio in the third quarter. What trends are you seeing this quarter, and are certain product lines or markets feeling the impact more than others? Most of the pricing pressure is in Europe, where there is little growth and people are producing more than what the market can absorb. So there is a price war going on. We don't see this dynamic in North America or China. We are currently implementing a series of price increases in the European market to address this. You've noted that Europe's chemical sector requires greater collaboration in light of higher energy costs and regulatory hurdles. What type of collaboration works best and how is Huntsman positioning itself? We expect energy-intensive chemical production — aromatics, olefins, and other basic raw materials — to continue shifting out of Europe. These materials will increasingly be produced in the Middle East, China, and the US, and then imported into Europe. European producers will focus more on downstream activities such as formulation and blending. That's the type of collaboration and restructuring I'm referring to. You'll see capacity closures in Europe and more investment in the Middle East, China and North America. Turning to China, how are weak consumer confidence and excess capacity impacting your margins and demand? Our businesses in China are currently the strongest we have globally, in both consumption levels and margins. I expect the Chinese economy to improve next year as consumer confidence gradually recovers. I believe 2026 will end stronger than 2025. Regarding Europe's regulations — such as REACH and sustainability policies — are these a greater challenge than energy costs? Regulations are the easier of the two to control, but high energy costs — especially LNG — will take longer to resolve. Both, however, are significant drags on the European economy. Europe could change how it operates if it chose to, but so far we hear more discussion than action. How do US tariffs and export controls impact your business, especially in China? We produce a lot of products in China and a lot in North America, but we don't trade much between the two; products made in China largely stay in China, and products made in North America stay in North America. The same is true for Europe. So tariffs don't significantly affect our raw materials. They do affect our customers, though, particularly in sectors like the automotive sector, where manufacturing is now shifting to the US. Some of their assemblies are moving there as well. For us, the total volume may remain the same, but we see changes in where that volume is produced and consumed. So we are seeing tariffs impact our customers, but not on our raw materials. Looking ahead to next year, which segments do you expect to drive the most growth, and how will you prioritise investments? We expect continued recovery in aerospace and in materials sold into the tech and semiconductor industries, for cleaning solutions and similar applications. Insulation and energy-conservation products should also perform well. We anticipate a gradual improvement in US construction in 2026 as well. How is Huntsman actively positioning itself for the clean-energy transition? Are there any new pilot projects, near-term targets, or strategic investments underway? We will continue producing highly energy-efficient materials and inputs for insulation, solar, electrical-grid infrastructure, EVs, and more. These will remain growth areas for us. But many publicly stated targets — for example, Europe selling only EVs within a few years — are unrealistic. Consumers aren't adopting EVs at the expected pace, and governments shouldn't force them. When I say the conversation [around sustainability] isn't based on reality, I mean that we cannot eliminate hydrocarbons entirely. Claims that we can move "beyond petroleum" are not realistic. By Rithika Krishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Oman's polymer industry gets $70mn in investments
Oman's polymer industry gets $70mn in investments
Dubai, 9 December (Argus) — Omani state-owned energy company OQ signed 11 agreements worth in excess of $70mn under the Ladayn Polymer Programme (LPP) on the sidelines of the 19th Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Forum in Bahrain today. Six are new projects, and five are expansion of existing projects, Ladayn programme head Mundhar Saleh Al Rawahi told Argus . The investments are aimed at strengthening Oman's ability to convert locally-produced polymers into higher-value products. The projects will offtake more than 90,000 t/yr of raw materials from OQ. Around 70pc of the output will be exported, while 30pc will be consumed domestically, according to Al Rawahi. The agreements were signed with a "diverse set of local, regional and international polymer manufacturers", and cover a broad range of product categories responding to national priorities and market demand. Nine factories will be inaugurated, Al Rawahi said, which will offtake a furhter 100,000 t/yr raw materials from OQ. The 11 agreements bring investments into the LPP programme to around $220mn. The LPP project, located in Sohar Industrial City, was first announced in 2023 . The programme is jointly developed by OQ and state-owned Madayn. LPP is located near the OQ polymer complex in Sohar, which supplies it with polymers, primarily polyethylene and polypropylene. The agreements are in line with Oman's Vision 2040, which aims to develop the private sector while moving away from hydrocarbon use. By Ieva Paldaviciute and Rithika Krishna Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Global bioplastics production set to rise: Correction
Global bioplastics production set to rise: Correction
Corrects name of EUBP secretary general in final paragraph. This story was originally published on 2 December London, 3 December (Argus) — Global bio-based plastic production capacity is set to double to 4.7mn t by 2030, according to the latest report from the industry association European Bioplastics (EUBP). The organisation published a report with the Nova Institute, which estimated that current production capacity is roughly 2.31mn t and represents 0.5pc of the total plastic production capacity worldwide. The bioplastics industry in 2025 operated at an overall production utilisation rate of 72pc up from 63pc reported in 2024, meaning that roughly 1.67mn t of bioplastics were produced in 2025. The association noted that depending on the bio-polymer and production region in question utilisation rates varied massively. In 2025, polylactic acid (PLA) production capacity represented 26.4pc of the total production followed by bio-polyamide production (bio-PA). Bio-polyethylene (bio-PE) production capacity stood at 12.7pc, while bio-polypropylene production capacity stood at 1pc of total global bioplastic production capacity. The report expects bio-PE production capacity to rise to 13.5pc of the total production capacity or roughly 633,000 t/yr with similar figures expected for bio-PP at 13.6pc. In Europe, the report expected stated that current bio-based production capacity in 2025 was 330,000 t/yr with 28.1pc of this coming from bio-PA, 30.3pc coming from PBAT, 5.2pc coming from bio-PE and 6.7pc coming from bio-PE. At the EUBP, conference taking place in Berlin on 2-3 December, the report's authors mentioned that they have not included mass-balanced capacities in their figures, preferring to mention only biomass feedstock-only pathways. Currently, EUBP does not recognise the mass-balanced approach as set out in a position paper but it remains under discussion, with differing opinions about the adoption of the definition counting towards bio-based material heard today at the conference. The figures also do not include bio-degradable materials that are produced from fossil fuels. By 2030, total production capacity of biobased plastics in Europe is set to rise to 800,000 t/yr. This is largely being driven by increases in bio-PE and bio-PP production. Bio-PE capacity is set to rise to 138,400 t/yr in five years time from 22,110 t/yr, while bio-PP production capacity will rise to 238,400 t/yr by 2030, up from 17,316 t/yr in 2025. This is largely set to be driven in Europe by methanol-to-polymers (MTP). The bio-plastics and chemicals industry in Europe last week reacted to the European Bioeconomy strategy . The latest version of the strategy released indicated that the European Commission would look to introduce bio-plastics as being able to count towards some content requirements. At the Berlin conference today, EUBP Secretary General, Lorenza Romanese, described the strategy as the "the best news" for the industry in Europe in recent years. By George Barsted Global bioplastics production capacity forecast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU readies new bioenergy strategy
EU readies new bioenergy strategy
Brussels, 26 November (Argus) — The European Commission is today expected to adopt a new strategy aimed at boosting "nature-positive" investment and making better use of biomass. The latest version of the strategy seen by Argus deleted wording from a previous leaked draft that mentioned disincentivising "inefficient" biomass combustion, including changes to EU and national subsidies to avoid prioritising combustion over material use. Industry groups last month had criticised the previous draft strategy for "punishing" biomass combustion and ignoring the role of sustainable biofuels. The commission may still amend the current strategy document, which sets out a direction for policies but is not itself a legal proposal. Demand for biofuels will likely rise from 2025, in part thanks to the bloc's ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU initiatives, but sustainable biomass remains finite and its use is most effective in hard-to-abate sectors, the commission said in the document. The commission wants to add value to energy, industry, food, health and other sectors through biomass processing and biotechnology. The body said it would, for example, support uptake of bio-based plastics and novel materials by 2027 alongside recycling. Officials could also assess whether EU-wide definitions could support certification and scaling of bio-based polymers. And an EU methodology could certify long-lasting biogenic carbon storage in buildings under the carbon removal and carbon farming certification framework. The commission will issue legislation such as the upcoming BioTech Acts to bolster industrial production of bio-based chemicals and may target bio-based content requirements in some products. In the strategy, the commission and the European Investment Bank will use finance instruments to support biorefineries that incorporate new technologies. And a forthcoming Circular Economy Act aims to support biogas and biomethane production as well as using digestate as a fertiliser. A review next year of the bloc's emissions trading system will also explore potential for scalable biogenic carbon, capture, use and storage projects. The EU is also scheduled to review its Renewable Energy Directive by 2027 and assess how national biomass support schemes affect biodiversity. Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.