After another economically difficult year in 2024, the association sees a chance for an end to the downturn.
 

At its traditional annual economic press conference, the GKV Gesamtverband Kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie (Umbrella Association of the Plastics Processing Industry) reported that in 2024, sales had fallen from 72.5 to 69.4 billion euros and employment from more than 319,000 to around 313,000. Nevertheless, the association sees reasons for cautious optimism in current survey results. According to the survey, 42 per cent of companies expect sales to rise and 34 per cent expect profits to increase in 2025.
 
GKV President Helen Fürst said: ‘Our industry has the potential for growth. The proverbial silver lining on the horizon is gradually becoming visible after two challenging years for the plastics processing industry.’ The latest data on the circular economy also give the GKV cause for optimism: the share of recycled plastics in processing rose by four per cent to a total of 2.5 million tonnes last year, while the amount of plastic processed fell by five per cent to 12 million tonnes. For 2024, the vast majority of companies surveyed by the GKV at the beginning of the year stated that the proportion of recycled plastics in the volume processed had continue to rise. According to the survey, the companies plan to further increase the use of recycled materials in 2025 as well.
 
However, the association warned of an impending recyclate gap. ‘Without suitable plastic recyclates, the legally prescribed or planned recycling quotas for packaging or automobiles, for example, cannot be met,’ emphasised Fürst. Therefore, the range of recyclates must be expanded quickly. Otherwise, there is a risk of a recyclate gap of one million tonnes by 2030 in Germany alone (see also the BKV study on the demand for and forecast of the availability of PCR recyclates in 2030). The association is therefore calling for consistent implementation of the national circular economy strategy. Plastics should be systematically collected from all waste streams, including household residual waste and commercial waste, and recycled. However, the plastics processing industry believes that a recovery will depend above all on the industry being relieved of the high energy costs and on consistent efforts to reduce bureaucracy. The industry is also hoping for positive impetus from the world's leading trade fair, K 2025, which will take place in Düsseldorf from 8 to 15 October 2025.
 
Sources:

• Press release GKV (5.3.2025)
• Photo: © GKV