The Council has formally approved new EU rules aimed at making the automotive sector more circular, marking a significant step towards more sustainable vehicle design and end-of-life management. The new framework introduces measures to improve vehicle dismantling, increase the use of recycled materials, strengthen producer responsibility, and keep valuable resources within the European economy. Notably, the regulation requires that plastics used in new vehicles contain at least 15% recycled content within six years, rising to 25% within ten years. By promoting reuse, recycling, and recovery across the entire vehicle lifecycle, the regulation supports both the EU’s circular economy objectives and the competitiveness of the automotive industry.
These ambitions closely align with the goals of the CIRCLE Flagship project, which is advancing innovative solutions to increase the circularity of automotive plastics and accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable European automotive value chain.
