The comprehensive operation index of domestic recycled plastic enterprises in April 2025 was 50%.

In April 2025, the comprehensive operation index of domestic recycled plastic enterprises was 50%, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared with the previous month. 

The trend of the operation index of recycled plastic enterprises from 2024 to 2025.

Analysis of the Operation Situation of the Recycled Plastic Industry in April 2025

1. Production start-up:

In terms of production start-up, in April, the production start-up rate of sampled recycled plastic processing enterprises was 63%, a year-on-year decrease of 2 percentage points, remaining unchanged compared with the previous month. There was little change in the production start-up of sampled enterprises in April. The main reason is that, against the backdrop of reciprocal imposition of tariffs, the raw material prices have declined, and downstream factories are operating cautiously, mainly adopting a wait-and-see attitude towards the future market. Recycled plastic particle processing enterprises are adjusting their operations according to the market conditions, and there is no significant overall change in the production start-up.

2. Orders:

In April, due to the large number of uncertainties in the market and the loosening of raw material prices, product factories are not very willing to place orders, and the newly added orders of recycled plastic enterprises have decreased.

3. Raw material inventory: 

In terms of inventory, the inventory of waste plastics and crushed materials in April has slightly decreased and remained within a controllable inventory range. Affected by macro-level concerns, most enterprises are highly motivated to reduce their inventories. However, the terminal's willingness to take in goods is not high, resulting in limited inventory reduction.

Summary of Major Events and Policies in the Recycled Plastic Industry of the Month

1. On April 1, in accordance with the requirements of the "Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Organizing the Declaration of Enterprises Meeting the Industry Standard Conditions for Comprehensive Utilization of Renewable Resources in 2025 and Doing a Good Job in the In-process and Post-event Supervision of Announced Enterprises" issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the declaration of enterprises meeting the industry standard conditions for comprehensive utilization of renewable resources in 2025 and the in-process and post-event supervision of announced enterprises are carried out. This is aimed at better implementing the "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Comprehensive Utilization of Industrial Resources" and promoting the standardized utilization of renewable resources as well as the high-quality development of the remanufacturing industry of electromechanical products.

2. On April 9, an article titled "The Team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Achieves a Breakthrough — Efficient Decomposition and Conversion of Waste Plastics" was published on Page 10 of the Overseas Edition of People's Daily. It introduced the latest research findings on the treatment of waste plastics with microwaves, which were jointly published in the international academic journal "Nature Communications" by Ma Wangjing from the Oil and Gas Development Center of the Institute of Technical Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with Tsinghua University, the University of Oxford and other universities.

3. On April 14, the themed event on green consumption and the development of the renewable resources recycling industry organized by the Ministry of Commerce was held in Haikou, Hainan. Xu Junxiang, President of the China Association of Resources Recycling, as well as enterprise representatives, industry experts and others were invited to attend the event.

4. On April 14, the Recycled Plastics Branch of the China Association of Resources Recycling (hereinafter referred to as the "Branch") was invited to participate in the 6th CHINAPLAS X CPRJ Plastic Recycling and Circular Economy Forum held at the Crowne Plaza Shenzhen North Station. Zhou Zhiqiang, President of the Recycled Plastics Branch, attended and delivered a speech. Wang Yonggang, Secretary General, gave a keynote speech, and Zhou Yunfei, Deputy Secretary General, presided over the sub-forum. At the same time, the "Development Report of China's Recycled Plastic Industry in 2024" was first released at the meeting.

5. On April 15, the British government announced that the import tariffs on 89 types of goods, including fruit juices, spices, and plastics, would be suspended until July 2027. On April 1 of the same month, the UK Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) was further strengthened. The Chemical Recycling Research Institute of Kemao believes that this will further promote the development of the waste plastic chemical recycling industry.

6. On April 22, the 55th "World Earth Day", the "Good Cup New Life" environmental protection campaign, jointly launched by the Green Recycled Plastic Supply Chain Joint Working Group (GRPG), Meituan's "Green Mountains Initiative", the China General Chamber of Commerce, the China Environmental Protection Foundation, and the Working Group on the Application of Green Packaging for Catering Takeout, was officially launched.

7. On April 22, Henan Province established the Provincial Resources Recycling Group to promote the construction of pilot cities and enterprises for the recycling system of renewable resources.

8. On April 28, the waste plastic chemical recycling project of Shandong Yankong Renewable Resources Technology Co., Ltd., which received core technical equipment and operational support from Zhejiang Kemao Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., officially started construction in the Binhai District of Weifang City.

Source: CPRA