Weibold Academy article series discusses periodically the practical developments and scientific research findings in the end-of-life tire (ELT) recycling and pyrolysis industry.

Claus Lamer
Claus Lamer

These articles are reviews by Claus Lamer – the senior pyrolysis consultant at Weibold. The reviews aim to give industry entrepreneurs, project initiators, investors, and the public a better insight into a rapidly growing circular economy. At the same time, this article series should stimulate discussion.

For completeness, we would like to emphasize that these articles are no legal advice from Weibold or the author. Please refer to the responsible authorities and specialist lawyers for legally binding statements.

Introduction

The European Commission’s December 2025 Environment Omnibus package is not a complete solution for the recycling industry, but it is an important signal of direction. For companies active in end-of-life tire (ELT) recycling, plastic recycling, pyrolysis, recovered carbon black (rCB), and pyrolysis oil upgrading, the package is best understood as a first-step competitiveness reform: it promises faster procedures, lower administrative burden, and a clearer policy bridge toward the Circular Economy Act expected in 2026.

From an industry perspective, that is good news. But it is not enough.

Why the package matters

The Omnibus package is designed to make EU environmental rules work in a more efficient, less burdensome, and more investment-friendly way. Politically, it is tied to a broader EU goal: strengthening competitiveness while delivering the green transition.

For recycling businesses, this matters because the sector often struggles not only with technology and market development but also with fragmented permitting, inconsistent implementation across Member States, and uncertainty about the legal status of recycled outputs.

The package addresses some of these issues directly, especially in the procedure. Others are postponed to the next legislative phase.

The biggest upside: faster permitting

The most important element for the industry is the proposed Regulation on speeding up environmental assessments. It explicitly treats circular economy-related projects as strategic, and proposes tools such as:

  • single points of contact,
  • coordinated or joint environmental procedures,
  • maximum timelines,
  • digital submission,
  • online portals,
  • and prioritization of strategic projects.

For new pyrolysis plants, ELT mechanical recycling facilities, granulation lines, powder plants, reclaim/devulcanization projects, rCB upgrading units, and downstream oil-upgrading assets, these measures could materially shorten project timelines and reduce costly permitting duplication.

In practice, this is one of the most valuable changes in the package as a whole. Delays in environmental assessments often affect financing, equipment orders, site development, customer contracts, and overall project bankability. A more predictable process is therefore not just a legal improvement; it is a commercial one.

More flexibility for industrial decarbonization

A second relevant element is the proposed simplification of certain waste and industrial emissions requirements. For pyrolysis projects in particular, the draft opens more room for oxy-fuel combustion and for combustion plants using gas with more than 20 vol.% hydrogen, subject to safeguards.

Why does this matter? Because many pyrolysis plants and upgrading units rely on thermal oxidizers, utility boilers, furnaces, gas engines, hydrogen-ready systems, or may in the future be integrated with carbon capture and broader decarbonization infrastructure.

This makes the package relevant not only for waste treatment but also for the broader industrial positioning of pyrolysis as part of Europe’s circular and lower-carbon manufacturing base.

Lower administrative burden is positive — but not the whole story

The package also aims to reduce compliance burden in areas such as environmental management systems, reporting, SCIP, and parts of extended producer responsibility (EPR). For companies that spend substantial time and resources on administrative compliance, that is clearly welcome.

However, simplification cuts both ways.

For example, repealing or reducing certain reporting obligations may lower costs, but it can also create concerns about whether substantive information remains sufficiently available to recyclers and downstream users. In sectors like pyrolysis, where public scrutiny is often high, the industry should be careful not to appear to advocate weaker environmental governance.

The strongest industry position is therefore not “less regulation at any cost,” but rather better, more proportionate, and more predictable regulation.

What the package does not solve

This is where real caution starts.

Despite its positive elements, the Omnibus drafts do not solve several of the sector’s biggest legal and commercial bottlenecks. In particular, they have not yet delivered:

  • harmonized end-of-waste or product-status rules for pyrolysis outputs,
  • mutual recognition across Member States,
  • full legal certainty for mass-balance and chain-of-custody systems,
  • easier cross-border movement of relevant waste streams,
  • or a clearer interface with REACH, CLP, fuel law, and product law. These are not technical side issues. They are core market-enabling conditions.

The same is true for the mechanical ELT recycling sector. Faster permits are valuable, but they do not replace the need for EU-wide end-of-waste rules, consistent recognition of quality, and stronger demand for tire-derived recycled materials.

In other words, the Omnibus package helps with the process, but it still leaves major gaps in market formation and legal certainty.

Why industry participation matters now

One of the clearest conclusions from this policy package is that industry should not wait for the Circular Economy Act.

The Commission has already indicated that broader reform is coming in 3. Qu. 2026. That means the current consultation and political debate are a preparation phase for the next, more decisive legislative round.

Companies and industry associations that submit strong evidence now will be in a much better position to shape what comes next.

The most useful industry input is likely to be practical and data-driven. That includes evidence on:

  • CAPEX costs caused by permitting delays,
  • duplication between procedures,
  • offtake barriers,
  • EPR friction,
  • uncertainty around output status,
  • and the real market economics of TPO, PPO, rCB, and ELT-derived recycled materials.

This matters because the Commission is currently operating within a highly quantified framework of competitiveness. The more specific and credible the evidence, the greater the chance it will influence future reform.

A conclusion for the recycling industry

The December 2025 Environment Omnibus should be welcomed but not overstated.

It is a constructive first step. It signals that the Commission understands the need for faster procedures, lower administrative burden, and a stronger Single Market logic for circular materials. For pyrolysis and ELT recycling, that is clearly positive.

But the package is not yet a full competitiveness framework for Europe’s recycling industry. The big unresolved issues — end-of-waste, product status, mutual recognition, chain of custody, cross-border feedstock movement, and stronger demand-side measures — are still ahead.

That is exactly why the sector should engage until May 7th, 2025.

For the recycling industry, the message is simple: support the direction but push for more. The companies that help define the next reform phase will be the ones best placed to benefit from it.

Weibold closely monitors global policy, technology, and market developments relevant to tire and plastic recycling, pyrolysis, recovered carbon black, pyrolysis oil, and circular economy markets. For companies preparing a position paper or consultation response, this is the right moment to translate operational experience into robust policy evidence. Weibold would be pleased to support this process with market insight, regulatory analysis, and strategic input. Please contact the author, claus@weibold.com

Key document sources

The article is based primarily on the following European Commission draft documents from the December 2025 Environment Omnibus package:

  • COM(2025) 980 final – Communication: Simplifying for sustainable competitiveness
  • SWD(2025) 990 final – Commission Staff Working Document accompanying COM(2025) 980
  • COM(2025) 983 final – Proposal for a Directive suspending the application of the rules on the appointment of authorised representatives for extended producer responsibility for waste, WEEE and single-use plastic waste
  • COM(2025) 984 final – Proposal for a Regulation on speeding-up environmental assessments
  • COM(2025) 984 final – Annex
  • COM(2025) 986 final – Proposal for a Directive amending the WFD, IED, MCPD and Directive (EU) 2024/1785 as regards simplification and reduction of administrative burden
  • COM(2025) 986 final – Annex I and Annex II

Additional context on sector-relevant implications may also be drawn from official EU materials on the SCIP-REACH/CLP interfaces and on the development of future Circular Economy Act policy

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