CATEGORY
CATEGORY
Trend
Trend
Trend
September 2026 Recycled Plastics Market Review: Recycled Pulls Ahead as Virgin Splits by Region
September 2026 Recycled Plastics Market Review: Recycled Pulls Ahead as Virgin Splits by Region
September 2026 Recycled Plastics Market Review: Recycled Pulls Ahead as Virgin Splits by Region
Recycled polyolefins spent most of September moving on their own logic while virgin polymers swung on crude, freight and Latin American turmoil. In the final week, US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE pulled ahead of a virgin market that split down the middle by region.
September 2026 in One Sentence
Recycled held its own line through a month of virgin volatility, then finished it in front.
August's review described recycled markets that mostly declined to participate while virgin polymer worked through a full cycle. September opened the same way — recycled polyolefins flat, virgin reacting to crude and policy — but the month did not stay static.
A regulatory deadline pulled recycled LDPE pricing forward in the back half, and a Brazilian conglomerate's restructuring kept Latin American reference pricing unsettled from week one to week five. By the closing week the relationship inverted: US recycled grades were the firmest segment in the report, while virgin PP itself split into a falling Asia and a rising Europe.
Why It Happened
Two forces ran through the whole month without ever fully resolving: a company in financial distress, and a regulatory deadline drawing closer.
Braskem's board approved a request for extrajudicial reorganization covering US$10.9 billion in debt, filed in the final week of August with creditors already holding 39.6% of the affected debt behind it. A São Paulo court admitted the filing, giving the company a non-extendable 90-day window to reach majority support in each creditor class — a deadline that lands Nov. 22. Its Mexican subsidiary Braskem Idesa filed separately for US bankruptcy protection, and Braskem itself stopped disclosing monthly PP pricing, removing a reference point the market had relied on. The restructuring shadowed Brazilian trade policy all month: Brazil's trade committee shelved a steep anti-dumping duty increase Braskem had requested on US-origin polyethylene, renewing a 20% import tariff on PE and PP instead.
The second force was the European Union's ban on plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries, effective Nov. 21, 2026 under the revised Waste Shipment Regulation. It stayed in the background early on, but became concrete once the European Commission published its Sept. 18 draft list confirming that 32 non-OECD countries had applied for continued waste-import authorization. Recycled LDPE bale prices firmed in both Europe and the US as sellers and buyers moved transactions ahead of that cutoff — displaced volume, not new consumption, and the kind of pull-forward that stops extending once the deadline itself stops approaching.
Underneath both stories, virgin and recycled kept responding to different inputs. Crude swung from above US$95/barrel on US-Iran tensions to roughly US$6/barrel lower by month's end, moving Asian virgin PE and PP each time it did. Recycled bale and pellet pricing in the Americas tracked domestic collection volumes instead — as REGENPORT's own week two coverage put it, pricing there was tracking bales, not barrels.
Three Things September Showed
1 — Recycled and virgin ran on separate logic most of the month, then swapped positions
For most of September, virgin moved and recycled didn't. Recycled PP sat "extremely quiet and disconnected from virgin" while virgin PP stayed strong; a week later, Brent's roughly 9% five-day surge pushed Asian virgin PE and PP sharply higher while recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE across the US, Mexico and Brazil didn't move at all. That gap held into mid-month, with Asian PP extending its crude-driven climb even as European PP fell on oversupply and US recycled HDPE and LDPE stayed flat for a second straight week.
By month's end the pattern flipped entirely. US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE extended gains into a second consecutive week, defying an expected seasonal pullback, while virgin PP itself split by region — Asia weakening as crude fell, Europe rising roughly €50/mt on demand recovery ahead of anticipated October increases.
2 — A single deadline pulled one grade's pricing forward across two continents
Recycled LDPE carried the month's clearest regulatory story. It started out merely stable in Europe, with a domestic bale shortage keeping US demand — and pricing — above export levels for the first time in 2026.
That changed once the EU's non-OECD list made the Nov. 21 export ban concrete: rLDPE bales firmed on both continents as European sellers cleared volume ahead of the cutoff and US demand stayed robust, with some grades drawing strong export interest, notably to India. The report was explicit that this was displaced volume with an inherent expiration date — and the final week's data confirmed it, with rLDPE consolidating its gains rather than extending them further, consistent with sellers positioning ahead of the ban rather than a durable shift in demand.
3 — Braskem and Brazil kept Latin American reference pricing unsettled start to finish
Braskem's court filing arrived alongside its own pending request that Brazil raise the anti-dumping duty on US-origin polyethylene from its existing US$199.04/mt — made definitive for five years back in March 2026 — to above US$700/mt. Brazil's trade committee (Gecex-Camex) split the difference on Aug. 27: it renewed the 20% PE/PP import tariff for 12 months (Egypt, Israel, Colombia and Mercosur members remain exempt) but shelved the duty increase, leaving the existing rate in place.
That trade compression showed up in volume terms soon after — Brazil's August PE imports fell 36% month-over-month and 29% year-over-year, with US-origin PE volumes down 76%. By month's end, Brazilian trading had frozen ahead of the Oct. 4 election (a runoff possible Oct. 25) even as Brazilian recycled PET pricing kept climbing regardless, and Braskem's restructuring remained unresolved, with an Oct. 9 creditor marker ahead of its Nov. 22 deadline.
Context: Regulation and Company Moves
The PPWR's recycled-content calculation methodology stayed in consultation through mid-September (Aug. 14–Sept. 16), with formal measures expected in Q4 2026 — a second regulatory track running alongside the more market-moving non-OECD export ban. Ghana confirmed a nationwide polystyrene foam ban effective Jan. 1, 2027, exempting medical, scientific and laboratory uses.
Egypt set new anti-dumping duties on K65 and K67±1 PVC suspension grades — 35% of CIF value with a minimum charge of US$274/mt, applied for five years — reshaping African and Turkish PVC trade flows. Mexico's anti-dumping measures on Asian-origin PET and rPET continued, with some buyers reportedly increasing purchases pre-emptively over concerns about potential Asian supply-chain disruption.
Volkswagen's board approved an additional 50,000 job cuts by 2030 — roughly 100,000 combined with reductions already under way — with German automotive demand, rather than the headline job-cut figure itself, the exposure recycled polyolefin and styrenics suppliers should watch. Separately, China's August customs data showed PVC exports surging month-over-month while imports fell just as sharply, reinforcing the country's shift toward a large net PVC exporter position.
What to Watch in October
Braskem's Oct. 9 creditor marker and Nov. 22 protection-period expiration. Both fall within October's watch window and will determine whether the restructuring reaches a resolution or extends the uncertainty that shaped Latin American reference pricing all September.
Brazil's Oct. 4 election and possible Oct. 25 runoff. Trading froze ahead of the vote; whether PE/PP demand and trade-policy decisions (including the shelved anti-dumping duty increase) resume once results are in will be the first thing to watch.
Whether rLDPE's pull-forward pricing unwinds. Week five already showed gains failing to extend; October will show whether that reverses into softness once the Nov. 21 deadline stops pulling volume forward.
Whether US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE gains persist into Q4, or prove to be their own short-lived pull-forward, now that they are the firmest segment in the report heading out of September.
The EU's non-OECD list, confirming 32 countries have applied for authorization, open for comment through Oct. 16, with the Commission's first authorised list due by year-end — any changes will shape which recycled bale flows into Asia hold up after Nov. 21.
Conclusion
September 2026 began where August left off — recycled polyolefins standing still while virgin polymer reacted to crude, freight and policy — but it did not end that way. A single regulatory deadline pulled recycled LDPE pricing forward on two continents, a Brazilian conglomerate's unresolved restructuring kept Latin American reference points unsettled for the full five weeks, and by month's end the US recycled complex had become the firmest part of the market while virgin PP itself fractured by region.
For buyers and suppliers, September's practical lesson is that the recycled-virgin gap did not just persist this month — it moved in recycled's favor, and October's Braskem and Brazil election outcomes will decide whether that holds into Q4.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did recycled plastic prices move in September 2026? Yes — more than in August. Recycled PP, HDPE and LDPE were mostly flat through the first three weeks, but recycled LDPE firmed on both continents in week four ahead of the EU's November non-OECD export ban, and US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE extended gains into a second consecutive week by week five, defying an expected seasonal pullback.
Why did the EU's November 2026 plastic waste export ban affect recycled LDPE pricing in September? The European Commission published a draft list on Sept. 18 confirming that 32 non-OECD countries had applied for continued authorization to import EU waste, making the Nov. 21 ban concrete eight weeks out. Sellers and buyers in Europe and the US accelerated rLDPE bale transactions ahead of the cutoff, which the market read as displaced volume rather than new demand — a reading confirmed in week five when those gains failed to extend further.
What is happening with Braskem's debt restructuring, and why does it matter for recycled plastics buyers? Braskem's board approved a US$10.9 billion extrajudicial reorganization request in late August, filed with creditors already holding 39.6% of the affected debt behind it and admitted by a São Paulo court; the company has a non-extendable 90-day window to reach majority support in each creditor class. Braskem stopped disclosing monthly PP pricing, removing a regional reference point, and the case remains unresolved heading into an Oct. 9 creditor marker ahead of the protection period's Nov. 22 expiration — both directly relevant to Latin American PE and PP supply.
What should recycled plastics buyers watch in October 2026?
Braskem's Oct. 9 creditor marker and the Nov. 22 protection-period expiration
Brazil's Oct. 4 election (and possible Oct. 25 runoff) and its effect on trade policy
Whether recycled LDPE's pull-forward pricing unwinds once the September deadline effect fades
Whether US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE gains persist into Q4
The EU's non-OECD country list, open for comment through Oct. 16
Image generated with ChatGPT
September 2026 in One Sentence
Recycled held its own line through a month of virgin volatility, then finished it in front.
August's review described recycled markets that mostly declined to participate while virgin polymer worked through a full cycle. September opened the same way — recycled polyolefins flat, virgin reacting to crude and policy — but the month did not stay static.
A regulatory deadline pulled recycled LDPE pricing forward in the back half, and a Brazilian conglomerate's restructuring kept Latin American reference pricing unsettled from week one to week five. By the closing week the relationship inverted: US recycled grades were the firmest segment in the report, while virgin PP itself split into a falling Asia and a rising Europe.
Why It Happened
Two forces ran through the whole month without ever fully resolving: a company in financial distress, and a regulatory deadline drawing closer.
Braskem's board approved a request for extrajudicial reorganization covering US$10.9 billion in debt, filed in the final week of August with creditors already holding 39.6% of the affected debt behind it. A São Paulo court admitted the filing, giving the company a non-extendable 90-day window to reach majority support in each creditor class — a deadline that lands Nov. 22. Its Mexican subsidiary Braskem Idesa filed separately for US bankruptcy protection, and Braskem itself stopped disclosing monthly PP pricing, removing a reference point the market had relied on. The restructuring shadowed Brazilian trade policy all month: Brazil's trade committee shelved a steep anti-dumping duty increase Braskem had requested on US-origin polyethylene, renewing a 20% import tariff on PE and PP instead.
The second force was the European Union's ban on plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries, effective Nov. 21, 2026 under the revised Waste Shipment Regulation. It stayed in the background early on, but became concrete once the European Commission published its Sept. 18 draft list confirming that 32 non-OECD countries had applied for continued waste-import authorization. Recycled LDPE bale prices firmed in both Europe and the US as sellers and buyers moved transactions ahead of that cutoff — displaced volume, not new consumption, and the kind of pull-forward that stops extending once the deadline itself stops approaching.
Underneath both stories, virgin and recycled kept responding to different inputs. Crude swung from above US$95/barrel on US-Iran tensions to roughly US$6/barrel lower by month's end, moving Asian virgin PE and PP each time it did. Recycled bale and pellet pricing in the Americas tracked domestic collection volumes instead — as REGENPORT's own week two coverage put it, pricing there was tracking bales, not barrels.
Three Things September Showed
1 — Recycled and virgin ran on separate logic most of the month, then swapped positions
For most of September, virgin moved and recycled didn't. Recycled PP sat "extremely quiet and disconnected from virgin" while virgin PP stayed strong; a week later, Brent's roughly 9% five-day surge pushed Asian virgin PE and PP sharply higher while recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE across the US, Mexico and Brazil didn't move at all. That gap held into mid-month, with Asian PP extending its crude-driven climb even as European PP fell on oversupply and US recycled HDPE and LDPE stayed flat for a second straight week.
By month's end the pattern flipped entirely. US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE extended gains into a second consecutive week, defying an expected seasonal pullback, while virgin PP itself split by region — Asia weakening as crude fell, Europe rising roughly €50/mt on demand recovery ahead of anticipated October increases.
2 — A single deadline pulled one grade's pricing forward across two continents
Recycled LDPE carried the month's clearest regulatory story. It started out merely stable in Europe, with a domestic bale shortage keeping US demand — and pricing — above export levels for the first time in 2026.
That changed once the EU's non-OECD list made the Nov. 21 export ban concrete: rLDPE bales firmed on both continents as European sellers cleared volume ahead of the cutoff and US demand stayed robust, with some grades drawing strong export interest, notably to India. The report was explicit that this was displaced volume with an inherent expiration date — and the final week's data confirmed it, with rLDPE consolidating its gains rather than extending them further, consistent with sellers positioning ahead of the ban rather than a durable shift in demand.
3 — Braskem and Brazil kept Latin American reference pricing unsettled start to finish
Braskem's court filing arrived alongside its own pending request that Brazil raise the anti-dumping duty on US-origin polyethylene from its existing US$199.04/mt — made definitive for five years back in March 2026 — to above US$700/mt. Brazil's trade committee (Gecex-Camex) split the difference on Aug. 27: it renewed the 20% PE/PP import tariff for 12 months (Egypt, Israel, Colombia and Mercosur members remain exempt) but shelved the duty increase, leaving the existing rate in place.
That trade compression showed up in volume terms soon after — Brazil's August PE imports fell 36% month-over-month and 29% year-over-year, with US-origin PE volumes down 76%. By month's end, Brazilian trading had frozen ahead of the Oct. 4 election (a runoff possible Oct. 25) even as Brazilian recycled PET pricing kept climbing regardless, and Braskem's restructuring remained unresolved, with an Oct. 9 creditor marker ahead of its Nov. 22 deadline.
Context: Regulation and Company Moves
The PPWR's recycled-content calculation methodology stayed in consultation through mid-September (Aug. 14–Sept. 16), with formal measures expected in Q4 2026 — a second regulatory track running alongside the more market-moving non-OECD export ban. Ghana confirmed a nationwide polystyrene foam ban effective Jan. 1, 2027, exempting medical, scientific and laboratory uses.
Egypt set new anti-dumping duties on K65 and K67±1 PVC suspension grades — 35% of CIF value with a minimum charge of US$274/mt, applied for five years — reshaping African and Turkish PVC trade flows. Mexico's anti-dumping measures on Asian-origin PET and rPET continued, with some buyers reportedly increasing purchases pre-emptively over concerns about potential Asian supply-chain disruption.
Volkswagen's board approved an additional 50,000 job cuts by 2030 — roughly 100,000 combined with reductions already under way — with German automotive demand, rather than the headline job-cut figure itself, the exposure recycled polyolefin and styrenics suppliers should watch. Separately, China's August customs data showed PVC exports surging month-over-month while imports fell just as sharply, reinforcing the country's shift toward a large net PVC exporter position.
What to Watch in October
Braskem's Oct. 9 creditor marker and Nov. 22 protection-period expiration. Both fall within October's watch window and will determine whether the restructuring reaches a resolution or extends the uncertainty that shaped Latin American reference pricing all September.
Brazil's Oct. 4 election and possible Oct. 25 runoff. Trading froze ahead of the vote; whether PE/PP demand and trade-policy decisions (including the shelved anti-dumping duty increase) resume once results are in will be the first thing to watch.
Whether rLDPE's pull-forward pricing unwinds. Week five already showed gains failing to extend; October will show whether that reverses into softness once the Nov. 21 deadline stops pulling volume forward.
Whether US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE gains persist into Q4, or prove to be their own short-lived pull-forward, now that they are the firmest segment in the report heading out of September.
The EU's non-OECD list, confirming 32 countries have applied for authorization, open for comment through Oct. 16, with the Commission's first authorised list due by year-end — any changes will shape which recycled bale flows into Asia hold up after Nov. 21.
Conclusion
September 2026 began where August left off — recycled polyolefins standing still while virgin polymer reacted to crude, freight and policy — but it did not end that way. A single regulatory deadline pulled recycled LDPE pricing forward on two continents, a Brazilian conglomerate's unresolved restructuring kept Latin American reference points unsettled for the full five weeks, and by month's end the US recycled complex had become the firmest part of the market while virgin PP itself fractured by region.
For buyers and suppliers, September's practical lesson is that the recycled-virgin gap did not just persist this month — it moved in recycled's favor, and October's Braskem and Brazil election outcomes will decide whether that holds into Q4.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did recycled plastic prices move in September 2026? Yes — more than in August. Recycled PP, HDPE and LDPE were mostly flat through the first three weeks, but recycled LDPE firmed on both continents in week four ahead of the EU's November non-OECD export ban, and US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE extended gains into a second consecutive week by week five, defying an expected seasonal pullback.
Why did the EU's November 2026 plastic waste export ban affect recycled LDPE pricing in September? The European Commission published a draft list on Sept. 18 confirming that 32 non-OECD countries had applied for continued authorization to import EU waste, making the Nov. 21 ban concrete eight weeks out. Sellers and buyers in Europe and the US accelerated rLDPE bale transactions ahead of the cutoff, which the market read as displaced volume rather than new demand — a reading confirmed in week five when those gains failed to extend further.
What is happening with Braskem's debt restructuring, and why does it matter for recycled plastics buyers? Braskem's board approved a US$10.9 billion extrajudicial reorganization request in late August, filed with creditors already holding 39.6% of the affected debt behind it and admitted by a São Paulo court; the company has a non-extendable 90-day window to reach majority support in each creditor class. Braskem stopped disclosing monthly PP pricing, removing a regional reference point, and the case remains unresolved heading into an Oct. 9 creditor marker ahead of the protection period's Nov. 22 expiration — both directly relevant to Latin American PE and PP supply.
What should recycled plastics buyers watch in October 2026?
Braskem's Oct. 9 creditor marker and the Nov. 22 protection-period expiration
Brazil's Oct. 4 election (and possible Oct. 25 runoff) and its effect on trade policy
Whether recycled LDPE's pull-forward pricing unwinds once the September deadline effect fades
Whether US recycled PET, HDPE and LDPE gains persist into Q4
The EU's non-OECD country list, open for comment through Oct. 16
Image generated with ChatGPT
September rLDPE Availability
Grades • Specs • Availability
Browse rLDPE →
September rLDPE Availability
September rLDPE Availability
Browse rLDPE grades by feedstock, MFI, stock and MOQ — sourcing options ahead of the Q4 export-deadline shift.
Browse rLDPE grades by feedstock, MFI, stock and MOQ — sourcing options ahead of the Q4 export-deadline shift.
Browse rLDPE →
Browse rLDPE →
Looking for samples or ready to source? Submit your request for pricing, availability, and technical information.
Looking for samples or ready to source? Submit your request for pricing, availability, and technical information.
Request a Quote →
Request a Quote →
Posted by REGENPORT
REGENPORT is a global platform connecting buyers and suppliers in the recycled materials and sustainable packaging industries.
