PRSE 2025: Neste’s head of chemical recycling explores circular plastics economy

There is fresh momentum and accelerated expansion in chemical recycling, according to Andreas Teir, head of chemical recycling at Neste. Packaging Insights sat down with Teir at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE) in the Netherlands this week to discuss recent developments in chemical recycling, the regulatory landscape, and the “complementary nature” of mechanical and chemical recycling. 

“There is more and more interest in chemical recycling — there are plenty of projects around, and I expect a lot to be happening in the near future,” says Teir. 

Meanwhile, Europe’s regulation around waste management is evolving, opening up new opportunities for chemical recycling. 

“We have the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) showing direction. We are seeing targets for 2030, and 2040, and they are also specific sub-targets, for example, for contact-sensitive packaging,” explains Teir.

“This [regulation] is relevant for chemical recycling and creates certainty for industry investors to advance with these investments that we need.”

Regulatory clarity needed

While Teir says regulations have led to significant progress in the recycling industry, there is still more legislative work to be done. 

Neste discussed recent developments in chemical recycling at its booth at PRSE.“Talking about the specifics of chemical recycling, there is some regulation wording which is very important. For instance, we need clarity on the recycled content rules, how to count for the content, and specifically for the mass balancing, which we really need for chemical recycling to pick up.” 

“Another one is in the waste regulation. That’s where we need more harmonization among EU member states on how to define and to have a harmonized approach to end the waste interpretation.”

Mechanical vs. chemical?

In the past, the recycling industry has sometimes framed mechanical and chemical recycling as competing technologies.

For Teir, the technologies are “truly complementary.” “We need to reach high recycling rates for waste plastics, and mechanical recycling takes us far. But, on top of that, we need chemical recycling.”

“Mechanical recycling should always be applied when it can be applied. It’s clearly the most cost-effective route. There’s many waste plastic streams where mechanical recycling is most suitable.”

“But then when we come, for instance, to contact-sensitive packaging where we need to gain high-quality resins and remove impurities, that’s where we need chemical recycling.” 

“I see a growing understanding of the need for chemical recycling to reach these high recycling rates — an understanding what role chemical recycling can play and needs to play, and how these technologies work together.”

Chemical recycling investment

Neste is investing in a chemical recycling facility in Finland to upgrade liquefied plastic waste.

“Crude pyrolysis oil is a raw material product that has a lot of impurities. It needs to be purified, refined, and upgraded so that it can be used as a drop-in solution in crackers.” 

The facility is expected to come online this year.

“To our understanding, it’s the biggest facility investment of this kind in the field of chemical recycling. We are very excited about this and about the fact that we are a big contributor to the industry segment, and there is still plenty for us to learn as we are starting this up,” says Teir.