This review examines the EU’s response to the growing problem of plastic waste with a focus on plastic packaging waste. The EU’s 2018 plastics strategy proposes measures aiming to improve recyclability, collection, sorting, recycling and recycled content of plastic products. The revised Packaging and Packaging Waste directive set new plastic packaging recycling targets for 2025 (50 %) and 2030 (55 %). New stricter reporting rules will likely lead the EU’s reported average plastic packaging recycling rate to drop. Even for plastic packaging, the most developed arm of the plastics strategy, concerted action by stakeholders at EU and Member State level will be required to bridge the considerable gap between the current recycling rate and where we need to be in only 5 to 10 years’ time.