The INCIRCULAR Policy Brief sets out practical recommendations for turning European circular economy goals into regional investment, stronger markets for recycled plastics and industrial deployment. It brings together the regulatory context, stakeholder experience from Slovenia, Spain and France, and evidence from the project’s work with industrial partners and SMEs.
Regions turn policy into practice
The Policy Brief reviews the EU framework for circular products, packaging, waste and industrial emissions. It also highlights the Clean Industrial Deal, which positions circularity within Europe’s industrial competitiveness agenda and links resource efficiency and secondary raw materials to resilience, manufacturing capacity and lower dependence on imported resources.
Implementation, however, often depends on decisions made closer to businesses and communities. Local and regional authorities shape procurement, infrastructure investment, permits, innovation support and cooperation across value chains. They can also connect waste holders, recyclers, manufacturers, technology providers and investors.
The Policy Brief focuses on the three countries involved in INCIRCULAR: Slovenia, Spain and France. Their circumstances differ, but the recommendations are intended to support regions across Europe, with particular attention to territories that have less infrastructure, technical capacity or access to investment.
The gap between ambition and delivery
The brief draws on interviews with members of the INCIRCULAR consortium and SMEs and other organisations receiving financial support through the project. Across the three countries, they reported recurring barriers that make circular investment difficult to plan and scale.
- Fragmented rules and uneven implementation. Standards, certification procedures and interpretations can differ between countries, regions and sectors. This creates uncertainty and adds to SMEs’ compliance and audit costs.
- Uncertain demand for recycled materials. Recycled plastics can cost more than virgin alternatives, while low-cost imports add price pressure. Without predictable demand, companies struggle to justify new equipment and processes.
- Gaps in infrastructure, data and technical support. Companies need better sorting and material preparation, reliable quality information, traceability and practical guidance on new requirements.
- Finance that is difficult to access. Funding exists, but SMEs face complex applications, narrow eligibility criteria and high administrative burdens. Support also remains focused on downstream waste treatment rather than prevention and circular design.
- Limited confidence in recycled plastics. Concerns about quality, safety, hygiene and durability remain, particularly in sensitive applications. Clear evidence and communication are needed to build trust among buyers, consumers and public authorities.
Five priorities for a stronger circular plastics market
1. Align the rules
European regions and businesses need a common technical language for secondary plastics. The brief recommends harmonised End-of-Waste criteria for important plastic streams and a consistent method for calculating and verifying recycled content across the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and sector-specific legislation. Common quality classes, identification methods and contaminant thresholds would make cross-border trade easier and give buyers greater confidence.
2. Create predictable demand
Public authorities can use purchasing power to help create a stable market for verified recycled materials. The recommendations include recycled-content requirements in suitable public procurement categories, alongside incentives that reward products designed for repair, reuse and recycling. Modulated extended producer responsibility fees and targeted fiscal measures could strengthen this market signal.
3. Make first investments easier
Moving from a pilot to industrial deployment is especially difficult for SMEs. The brief calls for simpler first-deployment grants, technical assistance, guarantees and blended finance that combine public and private capital. It also recommends involving investors early so that project pipelines can be better aligned with financing expectations.
4. Turn data into trust
Shared data and consistent assessment methods can help authorities and businesses compare options, verify performance and support credible environmental claims. The brief highlights open spectral libraries for advanced sorting, digital traceability that can feed future Digital Product Passports, and lifecycle assessment based on harmonised Life Cycle Assessment and Product Environmental Footprint methods. Independent test results and conformity information should also be communicated in plain language.
5. Build regional capacity
The brief also calls for skills and partnerships that help regions apply new rules and funding effectively. Regions can support training on recycled-material handling, artificial intelligence-based sorting, quality control and moulding with recyclate. Shared technical services can help SMEs with ecodesign, lifecycle assessment, permitting and investment preparation.
How INCIRCULAR is putting these priorities into practice
INCIRCULAR brings together eight partners from Vzhodna Slovenija, Andalusia and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Its Interregional Symbiotic Hub connects organisations across the circular plastics value chain and supports knowledge transfer between regions with different levels of industrial and technical capacity.
The project combines industrial pilots with targeted support for smaller companies. A large-scale pilot at the Gorenje site, supported by Omaplast’s recycling and compounding capacity, is testing technologies including artificial intelligence and near-infrared or hyperspectral sorting, process monitoring and digital control. Six SME-led innovation projects were selected to receive up to €60,000 each for work spanning sorting, shredding, purification, compounding, injection moulding and mould integration.
INCIRCULAR also includes peer learning, emulation sessions and a replication toolkit. The Policy Brief describes technology-transfer playbooks, procurement models and data-sharing templates intended to help other regions adapt suitable solutions. Evidence from the pilots is also intended to inform investment planning, procurement and permitting.
Explore the full recommendations
The complete Policy Brief provides the detailed regulatory and financial context, examples from the INCIRCULAR project and the full set of policy recommendations for European, national and regional actors.
Download the INCIRCULAR Policy Brief
For a quick overview or a resource to share with stakeholders, the factsheet summarises the five policy priorities and five regional actions.