Despite reporting a 6% increase in total revenue for 2025, Austrian packager and recycler Alpla emphasized headwinds in its recycling and beverage businesses from rising costs, variable demand and shifts in growth markets.
The company’s recycling division experienced a “mixed year,” Chief Commercial Officer Nicolas Lehner said in a Jan. 15 statement, citing positive regulatory developments in Europe as well as competition from virgin resin and imports. “New material is many times cheaper than recycled material. As demand falls and costs rise, there is a growing risk of low-quality imports from third countries. If the EU does not take countermeasures, the PPWR will backfire,” he said, referring to the bloc’s sweeping Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
Alpla reported total revenue of €5.2 billion ($6 billion) for 2025, compared to €4.9 billion in 2024.
The statement noted that Alpla is working with other companies “to promote fair conditions.”
In addition, Alpla is aiming to increase its share of PCR to 30% by 2030, by expanding its total output capacity from 400,000 metric tons/year of recycled PET and recycled HDPE to 700,000 among its 14 global locations, and by investing €15 million a year in recycling starting in 2026.
According to its most recent sustainability report, PCR represented 21.9% of Alpla’s total raw material consumption in 2024, compared to 20.1% in 2023.
| 2023 | 2024 | |||
| Metric tons | Share of total materials | Metric tons | Share of total materials | |
| Total PCR | 355,845 | 20.1% | 412,273 | 21.9% |
| RPET | 235,248 | 23.1% | 263,929 | 24.9% |
| RHDPE | 118,864 | 18.0% | 146,500 | 21.1% |
| RPP | 1,733 | 1.9% | 1,845 | 1.7% |
| Note: Share is in relation to the respective material group (e.g., for RPET, the reference figure is PET + RPET) Source: Alpla | ||||
In December, Alpla announced a four-year collaboration with the Dutch independent technological institute NTCP on a solvent-based recycling pilot project in Heerenveen, Netherlands, for food-grade HDPE. The project is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth. And in early 2025, Alpla acquired a majority stake in the Brazilian HDPE recycling joint venture Clean Bottle, marking the Austrian company’s entry into South American recycling.
“Growth markets can change, demand can fluctuate and costs can rise,” Lehner said in the Jan. 15 statement. “We experienced this in 2025, particularly in the beverage market and in recycling – and it is having a painful impact on the entire industry. This makes it all the more important to have a clear plan and focus on customer benefits. We are consistently driving both of these forward at Alpla.”
