U.S. oil giant cancels €100 million plastic recycling projects in the Netherlands

ExxonMobil is scrapping 100 million euros of investments into plastic recycling projects in Rotterdam and Antwerp. The U.S. oil and gas company plans to process 80,000 tons of plastic waste each year at its two current facilities. A senior executive, however, says that projects of this size cannot be restarted unless EU regulations are revised.

Among the proposals is one to measure the recycled content of plastic based on both the input waste and the output from the production process. Board member Jack Williams told Reuters that the plan would disadvantage existing facilities that rely on fossil-based feedstocks.

The European Union wants to reduce plastic waste. The target is for 30 percent of all plastic bottles to be made out of recycled materials by 2030.

Williams also voiced criticism of the CSDDD directive, which, from 2027, will require large EU companies to check their supply chains for environmental harm or forced labor and take action where necessary. He described the rules as overly complex, bureaucratic, and at times unworkable, calling for revisions. The EU has already eased and delayed the directive.

This comes just a few weeks after Shell announced that they were permanently halting construction on the biofuel plants in Rotterdam. The company stated that the construction costs were too high.