EPS recycling in Europe: the industry's own figure is 40 per cent

According to the EPS industry association EUMEPS, the EU recycling rate for post-consumer EPS packaging is about 40 per cent. That is industry data; your own site's rate comes from your weekly records.

25 July 2022Updated 28 September 2026

Short answer

In a statement of October 2023, the EPS industry association EUMEPS reports about 40 per cent recycling for post-consumer EPS packaging in the EU. Countries differ widely: Norway is above 70 per cent, and Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, Austria and Ireland above 50. What sets the rate is not the material but whether separate collection, a baler and a buyer exist.

The rate is the industry's own data, and according to EUMEPS it passes the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's threshold for recycling "at scale and in practice", which means more than 30 per cent in several regions. If 40 per cent comes back, 60 per cent does not, and a country range this wide shows that the system decides the outcome.

EPS is 98 per cent air. Collection cost is therefore driven by volume more than by weight: unbaled EPS fills a vehicle quickly and stops being economic before it reaches a buyer.

The European average is not your rate. Over one month, record the EPS that arrives, the amount kept separate and the amount the recycler accepts, in the same unit, and list rejected and dirty material separately. That shows whether the loss happens at separation, storage, baling or hand-over to the buyer.