The comprehensive operating index of Chinese recycled plastic enterprises in September 2025 was 50%
In September 2025, the comprehensive operating index of domestic recycled plastic enterprises was 50%, which was around the boom-bust line, showing improvement compared with August.
2024-2025 Trend of Operating Index for Recycled Plastic Enterprises
Analysis of the Operation of the Recycled Plastics Industry in September 2025
1. Operation:
In terms of operation, the operating rate of sample recycled plastic processing enterprises in September was 66%, a year-on-year decrease of 2 percentage points and a month-on-month increase of 9 percentage points. The operating rate rebounded in September, mainly due to the consumption of previous inventories, the fading of weather-related factors, and the driving force of domestic macro policies against involution. Additionally, some enterprises built up a small amount of inventory for the fourth quarter, which also contributed to the recovery. However, compared with the same period last year, the operating load was not high. The low price of raw materials continued to put pressure on the operation of small and micro enterprises, while the operation of large-scale enterprises was relatively good.
2. Orders:
In terms of downstream orders, orders for the November-December shopping festivals and Christmas are gradually increasing, mainly concentrated in the fields of non-durable goods and daily necessities, while engineering orders are relatively stable.
3. Raw material inventory:
In terms of inventory, the recycling volume of waste plastics has increased compared with the previous month. Industrial processing activities have picked up within the month. With the end of the school opening season, some preparations are being made for orders of the Double Eleven Shopping Festival, and it is expected that the supply of waste plastics will decrease as the weather turns cold in the later period, leading to an increase in inventory.
Summary of Major Events and Policies in the Recycled Plastics Industry for the Current Month
On September 4th, 28 industry organizations from Europe's plastic value chain (including the European Association of Plastics Processors, the European Recycling Association, PETCore Europe, Plastics Europe, and the European Plastic Recycling Association PRE, etc.) jointly submitted an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, warning that Europe's plastic industry is falling into a deep recession and urgently needs immediate policy intervention to avoid industrial chain breakdowns, loss of green investments, and large-scale job losses.
On September 11, the Ministry of Commerce established five industry standardization technical committees, and the China Material Recycling Association undertook the secretariat work of the Ministry of Commerce's Resource Recycling Industry Standardization Technical Committee (SW/TC9).
On September 16, the China Material Recycling Association was approved to become a scientific and technological achievement registration institution.
On September 19th, the National Development and Reform Commission formulated and issued the "Measures for the Administration of Central Budgetary Investment Special Fund for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction" in order to strengthen and standardize the management of central budgetary investment for energy conservation and carbon reduction projects, promote high-quality project construction, and improve the efficiency of fund utilization.
From September 24th to 26th, the Circular New Materials · 20th China International Plastic Recycling Conference and Exhibition was held at the Renaissance Zhengzhou Hotel.
On September 26th, Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone and China Resource Recycling Group Plastic Recycling Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Resource Recycling Plastic Recycling Company) held a signing ceremony for a strategic cooperation agreement and unveiled a joint working group. During the event, China Resource Recycling Plastic Recycling Company and Qingdao Huicheng Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Huicheng Environmental Protection) simultaneously signed an intention cooperation agreement.
Source: CPRA
