Over the coming months, Conversio Market & Strategy GmbH will once again be collecting data from companies along the entire value chain.

How many tonnes of plastics are produced in Germany each year and where are they used? How are the recycling paths for plastic waste and the use of recycled materials developing? For the new ‘Plastic Flow in Germany’, data is now being collected again from the entire value chain in order to provide answers to these questions. The study, which has been conducted every two years since 1997, has since been regarded as a key inventory of the plastics market in Germany. It analyses the entire life cycle of plastics – from production, processing and use to waste generation, recycling and reuse of recycled materials – and thus forms an important data basis for politicians, authorities and the professional public. The study on plastic flow makes developments in the plastics market transparent and documents progress in recycling and the circular economy.
 
Companies along the entire plastics value chain are invited to participate in the current survey. These include manufacturers, processors and users of plastics, as well as companies in the collection and recycling industry and machine manufacturers. The data collection by Conversio Market & Strategy GmbH is anonymous. In the coming weeks, questionnaires will be sent out, telephone interviews conducted and supplementary research carried out. The results of the new material flow analysis are expected to be published in October 2026.
 
The study is commissioned by BKV GmbH with the support of a broad alliance of associations along the plastics value chain. Participants include Plastics Europe Deutschland e. V. (PED), Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungs-, Wasser- und Kreislaufwirtschaft e. V., VDMA e. V. Kunststoff- und Gummimaschinen, IK – Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen e. V., KRV – Kunststoffrohrverband e. V., VinylPlus Deutschland e.V., Gesamtverband Kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie e. V., AVK – Industrievereinigung Verstärkte Kunststoffe e. V., FSK – Fachverband Schaumkunststoffe und Polyurethane e.V., TecPart – Verband Technische Kunststoff-Produkte e. V., pro-K Industrieverband langlebige Kunststoffprodukte und Mehrwegsysteme e. V., EPPA Deutschland e.V, IG BCE Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie, VDA – Verband der Deutschen Automobilindustrie e. V. and the VCI Verband der Chemischen Industrie.
 
Sources:

• Press release PED (11.3.2026)
• Photo: © BKV