Plastics are considered a key driver in this transformation. Their sustainable properties and high relevance make them a cornerstone of the circular industry. “The circular economy and design for recycling are the future,” says Philipp Lehner, CEO of one of the world’s leading manufacturers of plastic packaging[3]. ALPLA supports plastic circularity, among other things, through 14 recycling plants worldwide.

Recycling as a Success Factor

The principle is clear: in circular systems, waste becomes the starting point for new value creation. Materials – especially plastics – are designed for repeated use and, ideally, for 100 percent recyclability. Achieving this requires several key factors, explains Philipp Lehner: “We need to develop systemic packaging solutions that can be easily anchored in the circular economy – materials that are easy to recycle. In addition, we need functioning collection systems. That only works if recyclable materials are assigned a value. Then there will also be someone willing to pay the market price for collection[4].”

This is why ALPLA considers local collection infrastructure when setting up recycling plants – for example in Mexico[5]. At the same time, the company works intensively on design for recycling and the increased use of recyclates. In 2023, ALPLA and PTT Global Chemical launched Thailand’s first food-grade recycled PET (rPET), including the first bottles made entirely from rPET for Pepsi and Mineré. In India, ALPLA supported Coca-Cola in introducing the country’s first 100 percent rPET bottle, contributing to the beverage company’s goal of using 50 percent recycled material in its packaging by 2030[6]. This marked a milestone: producing food-grade recyclates is technically demanding, as the highest hygiene and safety standards must be met without compromising material quality.

Circularity as a Growth Engine

The effort represents an investment in the future. In addition to McKinsey’s model, the Stockholm-based investment firm Summa Equity estimates that circular economy markets in the EU could reach a volume of €1.5 trillion by 2040[7]. Companies benefit from longer product life cycles, higher material efficiency, and lower production costs. The labor market also gains: the International Labour Organization (ILO) expects the transition to a circular economy to create 7 to 8 million new jobs worldwide by 2030[8].

Europe is still at an early stage. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the EU’s circular material use rate stood at 11.8 percent[9] in 2023. Germany, however, already recovered 99.5 percent of collected plastic waste in the same year – more than 38 percent through mechanical and chemical recycling, and over 61 percent through energy recovery[10]. This highlights the enormous potential of the circular economy, particularly for plastics.

Circular Systems as Resource Security

Circular models also create stable resource flows and reduce dependence on virgin raw materials. Materials remain within regional, controlled systems – independent of procurement markets and geopolitical risks. In this way, the circular economy becomes part of economic infrastructure, comparable to energy or transport networks.

Local circular systems act like “material power plants,” replacing imported raw materials with high-quality recyclates. This stabilizes supply chains and reduces costs. Growth is achieved without additional material input – ecology and economy converge. A prime example is the bottle-to-bottle system, in which used PET bottles are transformed into new ones, requiring only minimal virgin material. ALPLA has even developed a PET wine bottle that goes a step further. Daniel Lehner, Global Sales Director Food & Beverage at ALPLA, explains: “The bottle is fully recyclable and can be produced with up to 100 percent recycled content.”

The Circular Economy as a New Reality

Circular systems are gradually becoming an economic reality. The value of a material increases with the length and number of its life cycles. Value creation arises through reuse rather than consumption. Companies optimize circularity rates and material efficiency instead of production volumes.

Users and consumers also benefit from sharing systems within the circular economy. Products are provided as services – availability replaces ownership. Companies sell service instead of units, offering guaranteed output rather than machines. Providers such as Siemens, Kaeser, and Rolls-Royce already use pay-per-use models. Tesla is another example with its robotaxi concept – Elon Musk’s vision of integrating vehicles into a shared autonomous mobility network. The circular economy is therefore more than a sustainability concept – it defines an economic system that grows through reuse and self-renewal.

[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/
[2] https://www.mckinsey.com/gr/~/media/mckinsey/
[3] https://industriemagazin.at/news/
[4] https://sicherverpackt.de/article/
[5] https://sustainability-report23-24.alpla.com/de/
[6] https://sustainability-report23-24.alpla.com/de/
[7] https://summaequity.com/
[8] https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/
[9] https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/
[10] https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/ressourcen-abfall/

Image Source: Plastic is Fantastic Association

Image Caption: From bottle to bottle: plastics stay in the loop. The circular economy replaces linear consumption – turning packaging into circulating resources with real economic value.