Cedo Recycling, a Netherlands-based subsidiary of plastic household products supplier Cedo, announced it would shut down its Geleen site after 40 years of operation.
The company has informed its 64 employees of its intension to ‘gradually cease operations at its Geleen site later this year’, it said in a statement.
The decision is being driven by ‘ongoing market challenges, rising operational costs, and increasing regulatory pressures’, all of which have impacted the site’s long-term viability, Cedo Recycling said.
Cedo could not be reached for further comments at the time of publication.
The Geleen site has capacity to process over 80,000 tonnes of packaging film into regranulate annually. The input material comes primarily from households in the Netherlands and neighbouring countries and is sorted, shredded, washed, and extruded at the site. The recycled plastic is then used to produce garbage bags at Cedo Group sites in Poland and the United Kingdom.
In the coming weeks, Cedo Recycling will convene with employee representatives and trade unions to agree on future steps.
“A final decision will therefore be made at a later stage. Cedo is committed to a responsible transition and supporting employees throughout this process,” it said in a statement.
Cedo added the company remains dedicated to sustainability and will continue its recycling efforts at other locations across Europe.
Until recently, Cedo has been expanding its plastics recycling capacity. Last summer, it acquired Vinatic, one of the leading flexible plastic recyclers in Vietnam. In December, it announced the acquisition of Lithuania-based Plasta Group, one of Europe’s largest polyethylene recyclers. The company also had plans to build a new factory at the Geleen recycling site in 2025. The group has a combined capacity to recycle more than 200,000 tons of plastic waste per year.
Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) said this week that recycling plant closures are accelerating across the continent.
The European Union’s plastic recycling industry is at a breaking point, PRE said in a statement.
A sharp decline in domestic production, increased imports, and rising economic pressures are forcing company closures.
The total capacity of facilities that shut down in 2024 doubled compared to 2023, and the situation is intensifying in 2025, impacting both small and large companies alike, PRE added.
In the Netherlands alone, seven plastics recyclers closed doors in 2024.
“Now more than ever, decisive action is essential,” said Ton Emans, president at PRE and group recycling and procurement director at Cedo. “We urge EU policymakers to take a fast and strong political stance, introducing effective import controls and enforcing existing legislation, including the restriction of importing materials which do not meet equivalent EU sustainability and safety standards. These measures are crucial for the plastic recycling industry’s survival, which has already invested €5 billion between 2020 and 2023 just to meet mandatory targets.”