7
PLASTIC PACKAGING AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY- AN ICIS VIEW By Nigel Davis
PLASTIC PACKAGING
AND THE CIRCULAR
ECONOMY- AN ICIS VIEW
By Nigel Davis
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The world wonrsquot do without plastics but producers converters retailers and consumers are being prodded into doing more with less
Less packaging is the mantra adopted by the European Union a new plastics strategy from the European Commission talking about ensuring that by 2030 all plastics packaging placed on the EU market can be either re-used or cost-effectively recycled
As plastic packaging use is more closely scrutinised and more waste is recycled virgin polymer demand growth is curtailed And what happens in Europe is likely to spread to other parts of the world where the throwaway plastic waste problem is much greater
The impact of total plastic packaging recyclability and of more recycling will be significant It will prompt innovation certainly
AN ICIS VIEW
PLASTIC PACKAGING AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
BY NIGEL DAVIS FEBRUARY 2018
PLASTICS PACKAGING GROWTH IN EUROPE
Europe 2017 17-22
(million tonnes) share of total AAGR y
HDPE 11 15 22
LDPE 32 63 08
LLDPE 34 68 28
PP 37 30 33
PVC 08 13 17
PS 06 34 -31
EPS 04 23 -03
PET 43 - 31
EU plus East European nations and Turkey Source ICIS
ICIS News editors around the world are reporting the breaking news stories that impact chemical markets influence commodity prices and affect your daily business decisions
Be the first to find out market moves deals announcements new data and analysis ndash all via one online subscription
Stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the global and regional plastic markets with ICIS News
Find out more and request a free trial
but also a shift away from some plastics and some grades
In Europe things are moving fast Work is underway to revise the EUrsquos Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive to harmonise rules to match the target
Particularly difficult plastic products in the waste stream oxo-plastics and deliberately produced microplastics will be restricted in use under the Reach chemicals legislation
The Commission is urging the European Parliament and the Council to back its proposals which also call for renewed recycling input from industry and consumers
A private-led investment fund could be used to back new technologies and processes aimed at reducing the environmental impact of primary plastics production the Commission says
It has adopted a carrot and stick approach keen to enshrine the re-use and recycling targets in law but also encouraging national and regional authorities and industry to come up with better ways of cost effectively recycling plastic packaging
The BBC television series Blue Planet II presented by veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has caught the attention of many across the bloc and farther afield with its stunning images of the ways in which the plastic blight is affecting the worldrsquos oceans
As one major UK food retailer said in January the consequences of microplastics produced intentionally or
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
issue and the actions being proposed at the EU level are extended in the new strategy The Commission highlights actions to reduce plastic waste and marine litter in East and southeast Asia and the Mediterranean as well as the EUrsquos support of the Barcelona Convention cooperation on plastic waste prevention in the worldrsquos major river basins
Regional plans can be effective at targeting packaging and agricultural waste as well as discarded fishing gear ndash a particular issue addressed in the new strategy
ldquoThis strategy proposes concrete actions designed to make the vision for a more circular plastics economy a realityrdquo the Commission says
ldquoThe Commission will focus on making decisive progress within its current mandate while preparing the ground for longer-term action It will be essential for other key actors to also play their partrdquo
Plastic recycling across Europe has failed to reach targets the cost of recycling alongside the price of recycled material playing a large part in the lack of momentum
from marine litter entering the human food chain through fish and seafood could be catastrophic for humanity
The Commissionrsquos proposals and a rising groundswell of public opinion has prompted other large food and drinks retailers to revise their plastic packaging strategy Food and personal care products giant Unilever has said it is committed to ensure that all its plastics packaging is fully reusable recyclable or compostable by 2025 It has called on the entire consumer goods industry ldquoto accelerate progress towards the circular economyrdquo
Drinks maker Coca Cola has said it aims to help collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells worldwide by 2030
The renewed drive to tackle plastic packaging waste will have a significant impact on demand growth to 2030 and beyond ICIS analysis shows In Europe it will help reduce the demand for virgin LLDPE in EU 28 nations by 5m tonnes in the 2018 to 2030 period
There is no denying that plastic packaging waste is a global
388 Energy recovery
409 Recycling
203 Landfill
PLASTIC PACKGING WASTE TREATMENT IN 2016 (EU28+NOCH)
167 mt collected plastic post-consumer PACKAGING
waste
ICIS CONSULTING SUPPORTING YOUR BUSINESS DECISIONS
ICIS consultants enable businesses to address specific long term challenges through providing robust proprietary data on-the-ground expertise and strategic insight across global petrochemical energy and fertilizers industries
From research and due diligence to investment analysis and portfolio optimization our team of experienced consultants will work alongside your business to identify challenges mitigate risks and help you meet your growth objectives
Enquire about our services
Source PlasticsEurope
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
Global Imports of Plastic Scrap by Country and Year(in metric tons)
Top 20 ImportersPlastic Scrap 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
China 4956589 5864637 6912155 7074626 7325810 8009674 8384190 8877767 7881304 8254268 7354366
Hong Kong 3499933 4421329 4145835 4503012 4752654 4795350 3962054 3200487 2506171 3080676 2864748
Netherlands 203699 226692 221914 238843 144459 295928 374308 467433 531881 622941 598127
Germany 203111 219474 239700 227723 214448 296940 302344 420106 423052 501628 545607
USA 467648 557367 416683 412156 356098 379490 342014 361294 372705 417046 393392
Belgium 158836 248563 281228 294000 350481 285426 322250 292285 259805 226729 259728
Malaysia 76954 73785 81755 38194 92323 81779 142860 176779 301435 225986 249941
Canada 209719 205177 183723 159231 129077 147206 152805 154370 145971 185725 248497
Austria 41468 69995 131224 148423 106394 146137 210909 218640 194626 250263 245451
Taiwan 103036 102548 122775 149976 119829 148599 152819 149128 201317 203564 221499
India 96514 94137 169909 97936 478491 116252 131419 195988 259614 251546 185746
Sweden 17063 18338 79494 87251 138100 300324 255449 134230 213483 153842 179521
Italy 161917 190103 199010 162786 116475 138291 145795 138956 134360 160176 153379
Portugal 11072 13499 12050 14876 13514 21625 54714 45242 51078 82725 134784
Czechia 24971 28489 41874 54849 48074 58555 93122 111373 122698 128088 131523
France 50483 65133 69866 81241 58467 98533 109061 109538 111813 109691 116439
Turkey 7806 3516 19114 10848 7169 23260 55780 56497 67396 105287 104031
Indonesia 3655 1957 313 8588 3175 39906 90474 106994 135993 107423 97146
Slovenia 9379 15682 20075 25719 28878 39280 39851 45516 59315 88606 89952
Viet Nam 23000 37540 80043 87123 54227 61586 52699 64776 66803 79170 88366
Rest of World 589957 662265 714662 773638 795233 954449 1153657 1135356 1216068 1140120 1086990
Annual World Total 10916810 13120226 14143403 14651039 15333377 16438588 16528574 16462754 15256885 16375499 15349234
Notes1) Data tables were derived from the UN Comtrade Database (last downloaded on April 14 20172) Top 20 determined by latest year of complete data
Global Exports of Plastic Scrap by Country and Year(in metric tons)
Top 20 ExportersPlastic Scrap 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
USA 843720 1045848 1375681 1593703 2020770 2040483 2127877 2011095 1909535 2172382 2043124
Japan 1058217 1296197 1517312 1513419 1487705 1638962 1631455 1673620 1681733 1670228 1606271
Germany 590302 748603 846084 774655 1445533 1418680 1462561 1511349 1324863 1453609 1376833
United Kingdom 324535 440852 548298 654393 711223 838188 880577 811509 648614 764404 791554
Netherlands 359581 438753 412010 357819 245322 361137 381131 428666 464294 431322 505903
France 408751 379183 385592 390634 447683 477954 502826 508034 454119 483026 468754
Mexico 301318 347875 419676 435085 372442 414021 442197 522143 517067 862744 449974
Belgium 342874 382820 399629 369552 453559 396963 414619 456860 471666 437310 430720
Spain 87435 91944 108685 112448 166850 217892 192363 236880 225844 333466 329937
Thailand 130445 139397 183287 145309 166370 205915 232170 263128 317540 346912 265390
Italy 110418 101847 113942 139913 212414 263949 269601 228019 191621 175859 223076
Canada 211634 219263 199638 229263 188862 190252 197638 203046 170783 193037 208939
Australia 87846 99881 103540 125183 204739 156388 151209 193087 155085 185705 206060
Rep of Korea 234546 299078 324564 285244 307717 201549 161358 182975 183291 192851 187609
Malaysia 104930 96789 107316 114943 123627 134326 153865 197598 250809 247007 182271
Poland 39008 50877 56911 66831 97153 107541 102736 101301 99431 138834 166378
Austria 81459 96514 86677 87450 106576 100262 133556 170389 172440 182299 149306
Indonesia 29111 36838 58167 53203 53728 116354 166430 204750 231747 193842 148735
Taiwan 158336 187864 170590 149536 166445 182693 164825 157914 120210 146153 145125
Czechia 22327 22878 31644 44473 74328 85409 102361 115307 128813 120879 123793
Rest of World 1574249 1776605 1962983 2385850 2427347 3416236 2619735 1968232 2124754 2029497 1831407
Annual World Total 7101044 8299907 9412227 10028908 11480395 12965152 12491089 12145903 11844060 12760676 11841157
Notes1) Data tables were derived from the UN Comtrade Database (last downloaded on April 14 20172) Top 20 determined by latest year of complete data
Source International Scrap Trade Database Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
And the decision by China to stop importing the worldrsquos plastic waste from the start of this year has clearly hit home
In 2015 China imported more than 10m tonnes of the 118m tonnes of plastic scrap exported globally The biggest exporters were the US Japan Germany and the UK
ICIS data show that 331m tonnes of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were used globally in flexible packaging in 2016 that is 656 of total consumption
High density polyethylene packaging films and sheets consumption was 95m tonne or 228 of total HDPE use A further 83m tonnes (or 198 of the total) is injection moulded into cups crates tubes caps and other packaging items
Close to 30 of the other major thermoplastic polypropylene (PP) or 147m tonnes was used to produce packaging film and sheets while 55m tonnes went into rigid packaging such as cups trays containers and closures
For polyolefins and plastics producers packaging is clearly the big if not the dominant business so it is in their best interests to be up to speed with recycling trends and the pressures building on primary plastics demand
There is no doubt that polymer producers take the issue seriously and there are numerous programmes running at the corporate and the sector level to look at ways of
improving the industryrsquos approach to the circular economy
Regulation or legislation will help prompt further innovation and growth rate projections will take into account the impact of recycling at the regional and global level
But as recycling awareness ndash and action ndash increases larger percentages of primary plastics demand will be removed from the market
The complexity of the recycling issue revolves around the different types and grades of plastic used in throwaway packaging and goes some way to explain why recycling rates of plastic packaging generally are so low
Consumers have been offered better performing and more attractive plastic packaging but colour particularly presents problems in the waste stream Consumers also are not encouraged sufficiently to collect and sort waste
The Commission says that around 258m tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Europe every year and that less than 30 of that waste is collected for recycling
A lot of this trash leaves the EU for third countries
The table shows ICIS estimates of the types of plastic used in packaging in Europe and illustrates the importance of not only LDPE and LLDPE in the market but also more difficult to recycle polystyrene and expandable polystyrene
Improve your strategic plans with Petrochemicals Analytics SolutionsOur new and enhanced analytics and insights puts you in a stronger position so you can optimise your trades plans and strategies in order to secure a competitive advantage
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Do you follow the European RPET market Wersquore looking for input from industry professionals around their challenges and aims in order for ICIS to better support this sector Click here to share your views
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
For industry the less easily recyclable products are likely to be the ones where the focus lies The plastics sectorrsquos styrene reuse and recycling projects being among the most important in this regards
The fact that a great deal of plastics packaging still goes to landfill where it degrades so slowly and is incinerated shows how the entire plastic chain is effectively seen to be taking the easy option on not addressing the challenges of the circular economy whether that is the case or not
The European Commission has put it bluntly Between euro70bn and euro150 bn of the value of plastic packaging is lost to the economy after a very short ldquofirst cyclerdquo In other words single use plastic packaging is just thrown away The estimate is that 95 of the value of that packaging is lost
The Commission says that demand for recycled plastic in Europe represents only about 6 of total plastics demand The EU plastic recycling sector has suffered from low
prices and market uncertainty
There are innovators but at the grass roots level this is not a sector for the faint hearted
Some of the innovations will be made at the petrochemical and plastic producer level and others by the plastic converter Petrochemical producers are looking at recycling more waste plastic back into polymer and into feedstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation which has been at the forefront of the drive to tackle plastic waste in the worldrsquos oceans highlighted last year that without innovation and fundamental packaging redesign 30 of plastic packaging will never be reused or recycled
The chart from its report made jointly with the World Economic Forum shows what savings could be made if packaging design and after-use were addressed more aggressively
PLASTIC PACKAGING SEGMENTS THAT NEED FUNDAMENTAL REDESIGN AND INNOVATION
Total is not the sum of separate categories due to overlapSource New Plastics Economy initiative analysis (see Appendix in World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation The New Plastics Economy-Catalysing action (2017 httpwwwelenmacarthurfoundationorgpublications)for details)
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The plastics industry trade group PlasticsEurope has three collaborative projects covering polyolefin- vinyl- and styrene-based plastic packaging They are looking at packaging design alongside quality standards and non-mechanical processes to convert polymer into feedstock for new raw materials A styrenics circular solutions initiative is looking into the technologies that will enable the incorporation of post-consumer waste back into the production process The most promising technologies will be assessed by the end of 2018 PlasticsEurope says
European plastics manufacturers are committed to ensure high rates of reuse and recycling with the ambition to reach 60 for plastic packaging by 2030rdquo executive director of
Nigel Davis is Insight Editor with ICIS a course director with ICIS Training and a
regular contributor to ICIS news Nigel has been analysing and writing about the chemical
industry for many years the Insight column providing daily commentary on the sector its
markets and companies
NIGEL DAVIS INSIGHT EDITOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GET ACCESS TO THE FULL ARCHIVE OF INSIGHTS FROM ICIS NEWS BY REQUESTING A FREE TRIAL
PlasticsEurope Karl-H Foerster said in January ldquoThis will help achieve our goal of 100 reuse recycling and recovery of all plastics packaging at European level by 2040rdquo he added
The trade group stresses that no plastics should end up in the environment and that further action needs to be taken on landfill
ldquoSince 2011 the European plastics industry has been calling for zero plastics to landfillrdquo Foerster said ldquoOnly a legally binding landfill restriction on all recyclable and other recoverable post-consumer waste will put an end to the landfilling of all waste which can be used as a resourcerdquo
Source PlasticsEurope
Mechanical Recycling Feedstock Recycling
PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE PER COUNTRY IN 2016
CzechiaGermany
NetherlandsSwedenIreland
SpainUK
EstoniaSlovakiaSloveniaBelgiumNorway
PortugalLatvia
ItalyPoland
LuxembourgLithuania
CyprusSwitzerland
AustriaBulgariaDenmarkRomania
CroatiaHungary
MaltaGreeceFranceFinland
0 20 40 60
Plastics recycling target acc to the EU PPWD 225
EU 28+2 recycling rate of plastic packaging waste408
JOIN THE ICIS NETWORKING DISCUSSION AT AFPM IPC
25th March 3pm in San Antonio
A snapshot of the uncertainty in the petrochemicals markets and what is in store for 2018
2017 was a tumultuous year in the petrochemical industry amid growing capacities from North Americarsquos shale boom increasing environmental regulations in China rippling through the global marketplace and storms such as Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc on supply and demand
Register for your free place and find out how these factors are affecting the 2018 marketplace and how ICIS data analytics and consulting can help you navigate these turbulent waters
Drinks and canapeacutes will be served following the discussion from 330 pm onwards
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The world wonrsquot do without plastics but producers converters retailers and consumers are being prodded into doing more with less
Less packaging is the mantra adopted by the European Union a new plastics strategy from the European Commission talking about ensuring that by 2030 all plastics packaging placed on the EU market can be either re-used or cost-effectively recycled
As plastic packaging use is more closely scrutinised and more waste is recycled virgin polymer demand growth is curtailed And what happens in Europe is likely to spread to other parts of the world where the throwaway plastic waste problem is much greater
The impact of total plastic packaging recyclability and of more recycling will be significant It will prompt innovation certainly
AN ICIS VIEW
PLASTIC PACKAGING AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
BY NIGEL DAVIS FEBRUARY 2018
PLASTICS PACKAGING GROWTH IN EUROPE
Europe 2017 17-22
(million tonnes) share of total AAGR y
HDPE 11 15 22
LDPE 32 63 08
LLDPE 34 68 28
PP 37 30 33
PVC 08 13 17
PS 06 34 -31
EPS 04 23 -03
PET 43 - 31
EU plus East European nations and Turkey Source ICIS
ICIS News editors around the world are reporting the breaking news stories that impact chemical markets influence commodity prices and affect your daily business decisions
Be the first to find out market moves deals announcements new data and analysis ndash all via one online subscription
Stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the global and regional plastic markets with ICIS News
Find out more and request a free trial
but also a shift away from some plastics and some grades
In Europe things are moving fast Work is underway to revise the EUrsquos Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive to harmonise rules to match the target
Particularly difficult plastic products in the waste stream oxo-plastics and deliberately produced microplastics will be restricted in use under the Reach chemicals legislation
The Commission is urging the European Parliament and the Council to back its proposals which also call for renewed recycling input from industry and consumers
A private-led investment fund could be used to back new technologies and processes aimed at reducing the environmental impact of primary plastics production the Commission says
It has adopted a carrot and stick approach keen to enshrine the re-use and recycling targets in law but also encouraging national and regional authorities and industry to come up with better ways of cost effectively recycling plastic packaging
The BBC television series Blue Planet II presented by veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has caught the attention of many across the bloc and farther afield with its stunning images of the ways in which the plastic blight is affecting the worldrsquos oceans
As one major UK food retailer said in January the consequences of microplastics produced intentionally or
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
issue and the actions being proposed at the EU level are extended in the new strategy The Commission highlights actions to reduce plastic waste and marine litter in East and southeast Asia and the Mediterranean as well as the EUrsquos support of the Barcelona Convention cooperation on plastic waste prevention in the worldrsquos major river basins
Regional plans can be effective at targeting packaging and agricultural waste as well as discarded fishing gear ndash a particular issue addressed in the new strategy
ldquoThis strategy proposes concrete actions designed to make the vision for a more circular plastics economy a realityrdquo the Commission says
ldquoThe Commission will focus on making decisive progress within its current mandate while preparing the ground for longer-term action It will be essential for other key actors to also play their partrdquo
Plastic recycling across Europe has failed to reach targets the cost of recycling alongside the price of recycled material playing a large part in the lack of momentum
from marine litter entering the human food chain through fish and seafood could be catastrophic for humanity
The Commissionrsquos proposals and a rising groundswell of public opinion has prompted other large food and drinks retailers to revise their plastic packaging strategy Food and personal care products giant Unilever has said it is committed to ensure that all its plastics packaging is fully reusable recyclable or compostable by 2025 It has called on the entire consumer goods industry ldquoto accelerate progress towards the circular economyrdquo
Drinks maker Coca Cola has said it aims to help collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells worldwide by 2030
The renewed drive to tackle plastic packaging waste will have a significant impact on demand growth to 2030 and beyond ICIS analysis shows In Europe it will help reduce the demand for virgin LLDPE in EU 28 nations by 5m tonnes in the 2018 to 2030 period
There is no denying that plastic packaging waste is a global
388 Energy recovery
409 Recycling
203 Landfill
PLASTIC PACKGING WASTE TREATMENT IN 2016 (EU28+NOCH)
167 mt collected plastic post-consumer PACKAGING
waste
ICIS CONSULTING SUPPORTING YOUR BUSINESS DECISIONS
ICIS consultants enable businesses to address specific long term challenges through providing robust proprietary data on-the-ground expertise and strategic insight across global petrochemical energy and fertilizers industries
From research and due diligence to investment analysis and portfolio optimization our team of experienced consultants will work alongside your business to identify challenges mitigate risks and help you meet your growth objectives
Enquire about our services
Source PlasticsEurope
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
Global Imports of Plastic Scrap by Country and Year(in metric tons)
Top 20 ImportersPlastic Scrap 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
China 4956589 5864637 6912155 7074626 7325810 8009674 8384190 8877767 7881304 8254268 7354366
Hong Kong 3499933 4421329 4145835 4503012 4752654 4795350 3962054 3200487 2506171 3080676 2864748
Netherlands 203699 226692 221914 238843 144459 295928 374308 467433 531881 622941 598127
Germany 203111 219474 239700 227723 214448 296940 302344 420106 423052 501628 545607
USA 467648 557367 416683 412156 356098 379490 342014 361294 372705 417046 393392
Belgium 158836 248563 281228 294000 350481 285426 322250 292285 259805 226729 259728
Malaysia 76954 73785 81755 38194 92323 81779 142860 176779 301435 225986 249941
Canada 209719 205177 183723 159231 129077 147206 152805 154370 145971 185725 248497
Austria 41468 69995 131224 148423 106394 146137 210909 218640 194626 250263 245451
Taiwan 103036 102548 122775 149976 119829 148599 152819 149128 201317 203564 221499
India 96514 94137 169909 97936 478491 116252 131419 195988 259614 251546 185746
Sweden 17063 18338 79494 87251 138100 300324 255449 134230 213483 153842 179521
Italy 161917 190103 199010 162786 116475 138291 145795 138956 134360 160176 153379
Portugal 11072 13499 12050 14876 13514 21625 54714 45242 51078 82725 134784
Czechia 24971 28489 41874 54849 48074 58555 93122 111373 122698 128088 131523
France 50483 65133 69866 81241 58467 98533 109061 109538 111813 109691 116439
Turkey 7806 3516 19114 10848 7169 23260 55780 56497 67396 105287 104031
Indonesia 3655 1957 313 8588 3175 39906 90474 106994 135993 107423 97146
Slovenia 9379 15682 20075 25719 28878 39280 39851 45516 59315 88606 89952
Viet Nam 23000 37540 80043 87123 54227 61586 52699 64776 66803 79170 88366
Rest of World 589957 662265 714662 773638 795233 954449 1153657 1135356 1216068 1140120 1086990
Annual World Total 10916810 13120226 14143403 14651039 15333377 16438588 16528574 16462754 15256885 16375499 15349234
Notes1) Data tables were derived from the UN Comtrade Database (last downloaded on April 14 20172) Top 20 determined by latest year of complete data
Global Exports of Plastic Scrap by Country and Year(in metric tons)
Top 20 ExportersPlastic Scrap 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
USA 843720 1045848 1375681 1593703 2020770 2040483 2127877 2011095 1909535 2172382 2043124
Japan 1058217 1296197 1517312 1513419 1487705 1638962 1631455 1673620 1681733 1670228 1606271
Germany 590302 748603 846084 774655 1445533 1418680 1462561 1511349 1324863 1453609 1376833
United Kingdom 324535 440852 548298 654393 711223 838188 880577 811509 648614 764404 791554
Netherlands 359581 438753 412010 357819 245322 361137 381131 428666 464294 431322 505903
France 408751 379183 385592 390634 447683 477954 502826 508034 454119 483026 468754
Mexico 301318 347875 419676 435085 372442 414021 442197 522143 517067 862744 449974
Belgium 342874 382820 399629 369552 453559 396963 414619 456860 471666 437310 430720
Spain 87435 91944 108685 112448 166850 217892 192363 236880 225844 333466 329937
Thailand 130445 139397 183287 145309 166370 205915 232170 263128 317540 346912 265390
Italy 110418 101847 113942 139913 212414 263949 269601 228019 191621 175859 223076
Canada 211634 219263 199638 229263 188862 190252 197638 203046 170783 193037 208939
Australia 87846 99881 103540 125183 204739 156388 151209 193087 155085 185705 206060
Rep of Korea 234546 299078 324564 285244 307717 201549 161358 182975 183291 192851 187609
Malaysia 104930 96789 107316 114943 123627 134326 153865 197598 250809 247007 182271
Poland 39008 50877 56911 66831 97153 107541 102736 101301 99431 138834 166378
Austria 81459 96514 86677 87450 106576 100262 133556 170389 172440 182299 149306
Indonesia 29111 36838 58167 53203 53728 116354 166430 204750 231747 193842 148735
Taiwan 158336 187864 170590 149536 166445 182693 164825 157914 120210 146153 145125
Czechia 22327 22878 31644 44473 74328 85409 102361 115307 128813 120879 123793
Rest of World 1574249 1776605 1962983 2385850 2427347 3416236 2619735 1968232 2124754 2029497 1831407
Annual World Total 7101044 8299907 9412227 10028908 11480395 12965152 12491089 12145903 11844060 12760676 11841157
Notes1) Data tables were derived from the UN Comtrade Database (last downloaded on April 14 20172) Top 20 determined by latest year of complete data
Source International Scrap Trade Database Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
And the decision by China to stop importing the worldrsquos plastic waste from the start of this year has clearly hit home
In 2015 China imported more than 10m tonnes of the 118m tonnes of plastic scrap exported globally The biggest exporters were the US Japan Germany and the UK
ICIS data show that 331m tonnes of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were used globally in flexible packaging in 2016 that is 656 of total consumption
High density polyethylene packaging films and sheets consumption was 95m tonne or 228 of total HDPE use A further 83m tonnes (or 198 of the total) is injection moulded into cups crates tubes caps and other packaging items
Close to 30 of the other major thermoplastic polypropylene (PP) or 147m tonnes was used to produce packaging film and sheets while 55m tonnes went into rigid packaging such as cups trays containers and closures
For polyolefins and plastics producers packaging is clearly the big if not the dominant business so it is in their best interests to be up to speed with recycling trends and the pressures building on primary plastics demand
There is no doubt that polymer producers take the issue seriously and there are numerous programmes running at the corporate and the sector level to look at ways of
improving the industryrsquos approach to the circular economy
Regulation or legislation will help prompt further innovation and growth rate projections will take into account the impact of recycling at the regional and global level
But as recycling awareness ndash and action ndash increases larger percentages of primary plastics demand will be removed from the market
The complexity of the recycling issue revolves around the different types and grades of plastic used in throwaway packaging and goes some way to explain why recycling rates of plastic packaging generally are so low
Consumers have been offered better performing and more attractive plastic packaging but colour particularly presents problems in the waste stream Consumers also are not encouraged sufficiently to collect and sort waste
The Commission says that around 258m tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Europe every year and that less than 30 of that waste is collected for recycling
A lot of this trash leaves the EU for third countries
The table shows ICIS estimates of the types of plastic used in packaging in Europe and illustrates the importance of not only LDPE and LLDPE in the market but also more difficult to recycle polystyrene and expandable polystyrene
Improve your strategic plans with Petrochemicals Analytics SolutionsOur new and enhanced analytics and insights puts you in a stronger position so you can optimise your trades plans and strategies in order to secure a competitive advantage
Request a demo
Do you follow the European RPET market Wersquore looking for input from industry professionals around their challenges and aims in order for ICIS to better support this sector Click here to share your views
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
For industry the less easily recyclable products are likely to be the ones where the focus lies The plastics sectorrsquos styrene reuse and recycling projects being among the most important in this regards
The fact that a great deal of plastics packaging still goes to landfill where it degrades so slowly and is incinerated shows how the entire plastic chain is effectively seen to be taking the easy option on not addressing the challenges of the circular economy whether that is the case or not
The European Commission has put it bluntly Between euro70bn and euro150 bn of the value of plastic packaging is lost to the economy after a very short ldquofirst cyclerdquo In other words single use plastic packaging is just thrown away The estimate is that 95 of the value of that packaging is lost
The Commission says that demand for recycled plastic in Europe represents only about 6 of total plastics demand The EU plastic recycling sector has suffered from low
prices and market uncertainty
There are innovators but at the grass roots level this is not a sector for the faint hearted
Some of the innovations will be made at the petrochemical and plastic producer level and others by the plastic converter Petrochemical producers are looking at recycling more waste plastic back into polymer and into feedstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation which has been at the forefront of the drive to tackle plastic waste in the worldrsquos oceans highlighted last year that without innovation and fundamental packaging redesign 30 of plastic packaging will never be reused or recycled
The chart from its report made jointly with the World Economic Forum shows what savings could be made if packaging design and after-use were addressed more aggressively
PLASTIC PACKAGING SEGMENTS THAT NEED FUNDAMENTAL REDESIGN AND INNOVATION
Total is not the sum of separate categories due to overlapSource New Plastics Economy initiative analysis (see Appendix in World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation The New Plastics Economy-Catalysing action (2017 httpwwwelenmacarthurfoundationorgpublications)for details)
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The plastics industry trade group PlasticsEurope has three collaborative projects covering polyolefin- vinyl- and styrene-based plastic packaging They are looking at packaging design alongside quality standards and non-mechanical processes to convert polymer into feedstock for new raw materials A styrenics circular solutions initiative is looking into the technologies that will enable the incorporation of post-consumer waste back into the production process The most promising technologies will be assessed by the end of 2018 PlasticsEurope says
European plastics manufacturers are committed to ensure high rates of reuse and recycling with the ambition to reach 60 for plastic packaging by 2030rdquo executive director of
Nigel Davis is Insight Editor with ICIS a course director with ICIS Training and a
regular contributor to ICIS news Nigel has been analysing and writing about the chemical
industry for many years the Insight column providing daily commentary on the sector its
markets and companies
NIGEL DAVIS INSIGHT EDITOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GET ACCESS TO THE FULL ARCHIVE OF INSIGHTS FROM ICIS NEWS BY REQUESTING A FREE TRIAL
PlasticsEurope Karl-H Foerster said in January ldquoThis will help achieve our goal of 100 reuse recycling and recovery of all plastics packaging at European level by 2040rdquo he added
The trade group stresses that no plastics should end up in the environment and that further action needs to be taken on landfill
ldquoSince 2011 the European plastics industry has been calling for zero plastics to landfillrdquo Foerster said ldquoOnly a legally binding landfill restriction on all recyclable and other recoverable post-consumer waste will put an end to the landfilling of all waste which can be used as a resourcerdquo
Source PlasticsEurope
Mechanical Recycling Feedstock Recycling
PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE PER COUNTRY IN 2016
CzechiaGermany
NetherlandsSwedenIreland
SpainUK
EstoniaSlovakiaSloveniaBelgiumNorway
PortugalLatvia
ItalyPoland
LuxembourgLithuania
CyprusSwitzerland
AustriaBulgariaDenmarkRomania
CroatiaHungary
MaltaGreeceFranceFinland
0 20 40 60
Plastics recycling target acc to the EU PPWD 225
EU 28+2 recycling rate of plastic packaging waste408
JOIN THE ICIS NETWORKING DISCUSSION AT AFPM IPC
25th March 3pm in San Antonio
A snapshot of the uncertainty in the petrochemicals markets and what is in store for 2018
2017 was a tumultuous year in the petrochemical industry amid growing capacities from North Americarsquos shale boom increasing environmental regulations in China rippling through the global marketplace and storms such as Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc on supply and demand
Register for your free place and find out how these factors are affecting the 2018 marketplace and how ICIS data analytics and consulting can help you navigate these turbulent waters
Drinks and canapeacutes will be served following the discussion from 330 pm onwards
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
issue and the actions being proposed at the EU level are extended in the new strategy The Commission highlights actions to reduce plastic waste and marine litter in East and southeast Asia and the Mediterranean as well as the EUrsquos support of the Barcelona Convention cooperation on plastic waste prevention in the worldrsquos major river basins
Regional plans can be effective at targeting packaging and agricultural waste as well as discarded fishing gear ndash a particular issue addressed in the new strategy
ldquoThis strategy proposes concrete actions designed to make the vision for a more circular plastics economy a realityrdquo the Commission says
ldquoThe Commission will focus on making decisive progress within its current mandate while preparing the ground for longer-term action It will be essential for other key actors to also play their partrdquo
Plastic recycling across Europe has failed to reach targets the cost of recycling alongside the price of recycled material playing a large part in the lack of momentum
from marine litter entering the human food chain through fish and seafood could be catastrophic for humanity
The Commissionrsquos proposals and a rising groundswell of public opinion has prompted other large food and drinks retailers to revise their plastic packaging strategy Food and personal care products giant Unilever has said it is committed to ensure that all its plastics packaging is fully reusable recyclable or compostable by 2025 It has called on the entire consumer goods industry ldquoto accelerate progress towards the circular economyrdquo
Drinks maker Coca Cola has said it aims to help collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells worldwide by 2030
The renewed drive to tackle plastic packaging waste will have a significant impact on demand growth to 2030 and beyond ICIS analysis shows In Europe it will help reduce the demand for virgin LLDPE in EU 28 nations by 5m tonnes in the 2018 to 2030 period
There is no denying that plastic packaging waste is a global
388 Energy recovery
409 Recycling
203 Landfill
PLASTIC PACKGING WASTE TREATMENT IN 2016 (EU28+NOCH)
167 mt collected plastic post-consumer PACKAGING
waste
ICIS CONSULTING SUPPORTING YOUR BUSINESS DECISIONS
ICIS consultants enable businesses to address specific long term challenges through providing robust proprietary data on-the-ground expertise and strategic insight across global petrochemical energy and fertilizers industries
From research and due diligence to investment analysis and portfolio optimization our team of experienced consultants will work alongside your business to identify challenges mitigate risks and help you meet your growth objectives
Enquire about our services
Source PlasticsEurope
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
Global Imports of Plastic Scrap by Country and Year(in metric tons)
Top 20 ImportersPlastic Scrap 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
China 4956589 5864637 6912155 7074626 7325810 8009674 8384190 8877767 7881304 8254268 7354366
Hong Kong 3499933 4421329 4145835 4503012 4752654 4795350 3962054 3200487 2506171 3080676 2864748
Netherlands 203699 226692 221914 238843 144459 295928 374308 467433 531881 622941 598127
Germany 203111 219474 239700 227723 214448 296940 302344 420106 423052 501628 545607
USA 467648 557367 416683 412156 356098 379490 342014 361294 372705 417046 393392
Belgium 158836 248563 281228 294000 350481 285426 322250 292285 259805 226729 259728
Malaysia 76954 73785 81755 38194 92323 81779 142860 176779 301435 225986 249941
Canada 209719 205177 183723 159231 129077 147206 152805 154370 145971 185725 248497
Austria 41468 69995 131224 148423 106394 146137 210909 218640 194626 250263 245451
Taiwan 103036 102548 122775 149976 119829 148599 152819 149128 201317 203564 221499
India 96514 94137 169909 97936 478491 116252 131419 195988 259614 251546 185746
Sweden 17063 18338 79494 87251 138100 300324 255449 134230 213483 153842 179521
Italy 161917 190103 199010 162786 116475 138291 145795 138956 134360 160176 153379
Portugal 11072 13499 12050 14876 13514 21625 54714 45242 51078 82725 134784
Czechia 24971 28489 41874 54849 48074 58555 93122 111373 122698 128088 131523
France 50483 65133 69866 81241 58467 98533 109061 109538 111813 109691 116439
Turkey 7806 3516 19114 10848 7169 23260 55780 56497 67396 105287 104031
Indonesia 3655 1957 313 8588 3175 39906 90474 106994 135993 107423 97146
Slovenia 9379 15682 20075 25719 28878 39280 39851 45516 59315 88606 89952
Viet Nam 23000 37540 80043 87123 54227 61586 52699 64776 66803 79170 88366
Rest of World 589957 662265 714662 773638 795233 954449 1153657 1135356 1216068 1140120 1086990
Annual World Total 10916810 13120226 14143403 14651039 15333377 16438588 16528574 16462754 15256885 16375499 15349234
Notes1) Data tables were derived from the UN Comtrade Database (last downloaded on April 14 20172) Top 20 determined by latest year of complete data
Global Exports of Plastic Scrap by Country and Year(in metric tons)
Top 20 ExportersPlastic Scrap 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
USA 843720 1045848 1375681 1593703 2020770 2040483 2127877 2011095 1909535 2172382 2043124
Japan 1058217 1296197 1517312 1513419 1487705 1638962 1631455 1673620 1681733 1670228 1606271
Germany 590302 748603 846084 774655 1445533 1418680 1462561 1511349 1324863 1453609 1376833
United Kingdom 324535 440852 548298 654393 711223 838188 880577 811509 648614 764404 791554
Netherlands 359581 438753 412010 357819 245322 361137 381131 428666 464294 431322 505903
France 408751 379183 385592 390634 447683 477954 502826 508034 454119 483026 468754
Mexico 301318 347875 419676 435085 372442 414021 442197 522143 517067 862744 449974
Belgium 342874 382820 399629 369552 453559 396963 414619 456860 471666 437310 430720
Spain 87435 91944 108685 112448 166850 217892 192363 236880 225844 333466 329937
Thailand 130445 139397 183287 145309 166370 205915 232170 263128 317540 346912 265390
Italy 110418 101847 113942 139913 212414 263949 269601 228019 191621 175859 223076
Canada 211634 219263 199638 229263 188862 190252 197638 203046 170783 193037 208939
Australia 87846 99881 103540 125183 204739 156388 151209 193087 155085 185705 206060
Rep of Korea 234546 299078 324564 285244 307717 201549 161358 182975 183291 192851 187609
Malaysia 104930 96789 107316 114943 123627 134326 153865 197598 250809 247007 182271
Poland 39008 50877 56911 66831 97153 107541 102736 101301 99431 138834 166378
Austria 81459 96514 86677 87450 106576 100262 133556 170389 172440 182299 149306
Indonesia 29111 36838 58167 53203 53728 116354 166430 204750 231747 193842 148735
Taiwan 158336 187864 170590 149536 166445 182693 164825 157914 120210 146153 145125
Czechia 22327 22878 31644 44473 74328 85409 102361 115307 128813 120879 123793
Rest of World 1574249 1776605 1962983 2385850 2427347 3416236 2619735 1968232 2124754 2029497 1831407
Annual World Total 7101044 8299907 9412227 10028908 11480395 12965152 12491089 12145903 11844060 12760676 11841157
Notes1) Data tables were derived from the UN Comtrade Database (last downloaded on April 14 20172) Top 20 determined by latest year of complete data
Source International Scrap Trade Database Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
And the decision by China to stop importing the worldrsquos plastic waste from the start of this year has clearly hit home
In 2015 China imported more than 10m tonnes of the 118m tonnes of plastic scrap exported globally The biggest exporters were the US Japan Germany and the UK
ICIS data show that 331m tonnes of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were used globally in flexible packaging in 2016 that is 656 of total consumption
High density polyethylene packaging films and sheets consumption was 95m tonne or 228 of total HDPE use A further 83m tonnes (or 198 of the total) is injection moulded into cups crates tubes caps and other packaging items
Close to 30 of the other major thermoplastic polypropylene (PP) or 147m tonnes was used to produce packaging film and sheets while 55m tonnes went into rigid packaging such as cups trays containers and closures
For polyolefins and plastics producers packaging is clearly the big if not the dominant business so it is in their best interests to be up to speed with recycling trends and the pressures building on primary plastics demand
There is no doubt that polymer producers take the issue seriously and there are numerous programmes running at the corporate and the sector level to look at ways of
improving the industryrsquos approach to the circular economy
Regulation or legislation will help prompt further innovation and growth rate projections will take into account the impact of recycling at the regional and global level
But as recycling awareness ndash and action ndash increases larger percentages of primary plastics demand will be removed from the market
The complexity of the recycling issue revolves around the different types and grades of plastic used in throwaway packaging and goes some way to explain why recycling rates of plastic packaging generally are so low
Consumers have been offered better performing and more attractive plastic packaging but colour particularly presents problems in the waste stream Consumers also are not encouraged sufficiently to collect and sort waste
The Commission says that around 258m tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Europe every year and that less than 30 of that waste is collected for recycling
A lot of this trash leaves the EU for third countries
The table shows ICIS estimates of the types of plastic used in packaging in Europe and illustrates the importance of not only LDPE and LLDPE in the market but also more difficult to recycle polystyrene and expandable polystyrene
Improve your strategic plans with Petrochemicals Analytics SolutionsOur new and enhanced analytics and insights puts you in a stronger position so you can optimise your trades plans and strategies in order to secure a competitive advantage
Request a demo
Do you follow the European RPET market Wersquore looking for input from industry professionals around their challenges and aims in order for ICIS to better support this sector Click here to share your views
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
For industry the less easily recyclable products are likely to be the ones where the focus lies The plastics sectorrsquos styrene reuse and recycling projects being among the most important in this regards
The fact that a great deal of plastics packaging still goes to landfill where it degrades so slowly and is incinerated shows how the entire plastic chain is effectively seen to be taking the easy option on not addressing the challenges of the circular economy whether that is the case or not
The European Commission has put it bluntly Between euro70bn and euro150 bn of the value of plastic packaging is lost to the economy after a very short ldquofirst cyclerdquo In other words single use plastic packaging is just thrown away The estimate is that 95 of the value of that packaging is lost
The Commission says that demand for recycled plastic in Europe represents only about 6 of total plastics demand The EU plastic recycling sector has suffered from low
prices and market uncertainty
There are innovators but at the grass roots level this is not a sector for the faint hearted
Some of the innovations will be made at the petrochemical and plastic producer level and others by the plastic converter Petrochemical producers are looking at recycling more waste plastic back into polymer and into feedstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation which has been at the forefront of the drive to tackle plastic waste in the worldrsquos oceans highlighted last year that without innovation and fundamental packaging redesign 30 of plastic packaging will never be reused or recycled
The chart from its report made jointly with the World Economic Forum shows what savings could be made if packaging design and after-use were addressed more aggressively
PLASTIC PACKAGING SEGMENTS THAT NEED FUNDAMENTAL REDESIGN AND INNOVATION
Total is not the sum of separate categories due to overlapSource New Plastics Economy initiative analysis (see Appendix in World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation The New Plastics Economy-Catalysing action (2017 httpwwwelenmacarthurfoundationorgpublications)for details)
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The plastics industry trade group PlasticsEurope has three collaborative projects covering polyolefin- vinyl- and styrene-based plastic packaging They are looking at packaging design alongside quality standards and non-mechanical processes to convert polymer into feedstock for new raw materials A styrenics circular solutions initiative is looking into the technologies that will enable the incorporation of post-consumer waste back into the production process The most promising technologies will be assessed by the end of 2018 PlasticsEurope says
European plastics manufacturers are committed to ensure high rates of reuse and recycling with the ambition to reach 60 for plastic packaging by 2030rdquo executive director of
Nigel Davis is Insight Editor with ICIS a course director with ICIS Training and a
regular contributor to ICIS news Nigel has been analysing and writing about the chemical
industry for many years the Insight column providing daily commentary on the sector its
markets and companies
NIGEL DAVIS INSIGHT EDITOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GET ACCESS TO THE FULL ARCHIVE OF INSIGHTS FROM ICIS NEWS BY REQUESTING A FREE TRIAL
PlasticsEurope Karl-H Foerster said in January ldquoThis will help achieve our goal of 100 reuse recycling and recovery of all plastics packaging at European level by 2040rdquo he added
The trade group stresses that no plastics should end up in the environment and that further action needs to be taken on landfill
ldquoSince 2011 the European plastics industry has been calling for zero plastics to landfillrdquo Foerster said ldquoOnly a legally binding landfill restriction on all recyclable and other recoverable post-consumer waste will put an end to the landfilling of all waste which can be used as a resourcerdquo
Source PlasticsEurope
Mechanical Recycling Feedstock Recycling
PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE PER COUNTRY IN 2016
CzechiaGermany
NetherlandsSwedenIreland
SpainUK
EstoniaSlovakiaSloveniaBelgiumNorway
PortugalLatvia
ItalyPoland
LuxembourgLithuania
CyprusSwitzerland
AustriaBulgariaDenmarkRomania
CroatiaHungary
MaltaGreeceFranceFinland
0 20 40 60
Plastics recycling target acc to the EU PPWD 225
EU 28+2 recycling rate of plastic packaging waste408
JOIN THE ICIS NETWORKING DISCUSSION AT AFPM IPC
25th March 3pm in San Antonio
A snapshot of the uncertainty in the petrochemicals markets and what is in store for 2018
2017 was a tumultuous year in the petrochemical industry amid growing capacities from North Americarsquos shale boom increasing environmental regulations in China rippling through the global marketplace and storms such as Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc on supply and demand
Register for your free place and find out how these factors are affecting the 2018 marketplace and how ICIS data analytics and consulting can help you navigate these turbulent waters
Drinks and canapeacutes will be served following the discussion from 330 pm onwards
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
Global Imports of Plastic Scrap by Country and Year(in metric tons)
Top 20 ImportersPlastic Scrap 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
China 4956589 5864637 6912155 7074626 7325810 8009674 8384190 8877767 7881304 8254268 7354366
Hong Kong 3499933 4421329 4145835 4503012 4752654 4795350 3962054 3200487 2506171 3080676 2864748
Netherlands 203699 226692 221914 238843 144459 295928 374308 467433 531881 622941 598127
Germany 203111 219474 239700 227723 214448 296940 302344 420106 423052 501628 545607
USA 467648 557367 416683 412156 356098 379490 342014 361294 372705 417046 393392
Belgium 158836 248563 281228 294000 350481 285426 322250 292285 259805 226729 259728
Malaysia 76954 73785 81755 38194 92323 81779 142860 176779 301435 225986 249941
Canada 209719 205177 183723 159231 129077 147206 152805 154370 145971 185725 248497
Austria 41468 69995 131224 148423 106394 146137 210909 218640 194626 250263 245451
Taiwan 103036 102548 122775 149976 119829 148599 152819 149128 201317 203564 221499
India 96514 94137 169909 97936 478491 116252 131419 195988 259614 251546 185746
Sweden 17063 18338 79494 87251 138100 300324 255449 134230 213483 153842 179521
Italy 161917 190103 199010 162786 116475 138291 145795 138956 134360 160176 153379
Portugal 11072 13499 12050 14876 13514 21625 54714 45242 51078 82725 134784
Czechia 24971 28489 41874 54849 48074 58555 93122 111373 122698 128088 131523
France 50483 65133 69866 81241 58467 98533 109061 109538 111813 109691 116439
Turkey 7806 3516 19114 10848 7169 23260 55780 56497 67396 105287 104031
Indonesia 3655 1957 313 8588 3175 39906 90474 106994 135993 107423 97146
Slovenia 9379 15682 20075 25719 28878 39280 39851 45516 59315 88606 89952
Viet Nam 23000 37540 80043 87123 54227 61586 52699 64776 66803 79170 88366
Rest of World 589957 662265 714662 773638 795233 954449 1153657 1135356 1216068 1140120 1086990
Annual World Total 10916810 13120226 14143403 14651039 15333377 16438588 16528574 16462754 15256885 16375499 15349234
Notes1) Data tables were derived from the UN Comtrade Database (last downloaded on April 14 20172) Top 20 determined by latest year of complete data
Global Exports of Plastic Scrap by Country and Year(in metric tons)
Top 20 ExportersPlastic Scrap 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
USA 843720 1045848 1375681 1593703 2020770 2040483 2127877 2011095 1909535 2172382 2043124
Japan 1058217 1296197 1517312 1513419 1487705 1638962 1631455 1673620 1681733 1670228 1606271
Germany 590302 748603 846084 774655 1445533 1418680 1462561 1511349 1324863 1453609 1376833
United Kingdom 324535 440852 548298 654393 711223 838188 880577 811509 648614 764404 791554
Netherlands 359581 438753 412010 357819 245322 361137 381131 428666 464294 431322 505903
France 408751 379183 385592 390634 447683 477954 502826 508034 454119 483026 468754
Mexico 301318 347875 419676 435085 372442 414021 442197 522143 517067 862744 449974
Belgium 342874 382820 399629 369552 453559 396963 414619 456860 471666 437310 430720
Spain 87435 91944 108685 112448 166850 217892 192363 236880 225844 333466 329937
Thailand 130445 139397 183287 145309 166370 205915 232170 263128 317540 346912 265390
Italy 110418 101847 113942 139913 212414 263949 269601 228019 191621 175859 223076
Canada 211634 219263 199638 229263 188862 190252 197638 203046 170783 193037 208939
Australia 87846 99881 103540 125183 204739 156388 151209 193087 155085 185705 206060
Rep of Korea 234546 299078 324564 285244 307717 201549 161358 182975 183291 192851 187609
Malaysia 104930 96789 107316 114943 123627 134326 153865 197598 250809 247007 182271
Poland 39008 50877 56911 66831 97153 107541 102736 101301 99431 138834 166378
Austria 81459 96514 86677 87450 106576 100262 133556 170389 172440 182299 149306
Indonesia 29111 36838 58167 53203 53728 116354 166430 204750 231747 193842 148735
Taiwan 158336 187864 170590 149536 166445 182693 164825 157914 120210 146153 145125
Czechia 22327 22878 31644 44473 74328 85409 102361 115307 128813 120879 123793
Rest of World 1574249 1776605 1962983 2385850 2427347 3416236 2619735 1968232 2124754 2029497 1831407
Annual World Total 7101044 8299907 9412227 10028908 11480395 12965152 12491089 12145903 11844060 12760676 11841157
Notes1) Data tables were derived from the UN Comtrade Database (last downloaded on April 14 20172) Top 20 determined by latest year of complete data
Source International Scrap Trade Database Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
And the decision by China to stop importing the worldrsquos plastic waste from the start of this year has clearly hit home
In 2015 China imported more than 10m tonnes of the 118m tonnes of plastic scrap exported globally The biggest exporters were the US Japan Germany and the UK
ICIS data show that 331m tonnes of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were used globally in flexible packaging in 2016 that is 656 of total consumption
High density polyethylene packaging films and sheets consumption was 95m tonne or 228 of total HDPE use A further 83m tonnes (or 198 of the total) is injection moulded into cups crates tubes caps and other packaging items
Close to 30 of the other major thermoplastic polypropylene (PP) or 147m tonnes was used to produce packaging film and sheets while 55m tonnes went into rigid packaging such as cups trays containers and closures
For polyolefins and plastics producers packaging is clearly the big if not the dominant business so it is in their best interests to be up to speed with recycling trends and the pressures building on primary plastics demand
There is no doubt that polymer producers take the issue seriously and there are numerous programmes running at the corporate and the sector level to look at ways of
improving the industryrsquos approach to the circular economy
Regulation or legislation will help prompt further innovation and growth rate projections will take into account the impact of recycling at the regional and global level
But as recycling awareness ndash and action ndash increases larger percentages of primary plastics demand will be removed from the market
The complexity of the recycling issue revolves around the different types and grades of plastic used in throwaway packaging and goes some way to explain why recycling rates of plastic packaging generally are so low
Consumers have been offered better performing and more attractive plastic packaging but colour particularly presents problems in the waste stream Consumers also are not encouraged sufficiently to collect and sort waste
The Commission says that around 258m tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Europe every year and that less than 30 of that waste is collected for recycling
A lot of this trash leaves the EU for third countries
The table shows ICIS estimates of the types of plastic used in packaging in Europe and illustrates the importance of not only LDPE and LLDPE in the market but also more difficult to recycle polystyrene and expandable polystyrene
Improve your strategic plans with Petrochemicals Analytics SolutionsOur new and enhanced analytics and insights puts you in a stronger position so you can optimise your trades plans and strategies in order to secure a competitive advantage
Request a demo
Do you follow the European RPET market Wersquore looking for input from industry professionals around their challenges and aims in order for ICIS to better support this sector Click here to share your views
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
For industry the less easily recyclable products are likely to be the ones where the focus lies The plastics sectorrsquos styrene reuse and recycling projects being among the most important in this regards
The fact that a great deal of plastics packaging still goes to landfill where it degrades so slowly and is incinerated shows how the entire plastic chain is effectively seen to be taking the easy option on not addressing the challenges of the circular economy whether that is the case or not
The European Commission has put it bluntly Between euro70bn and euro150 bn of the value of plastic packaging is lost to the economy after a very short ldquofirst cyclerdquo In other words single use plastic packaging is just thrown away The estimate is that 95 of the value of that packaging is lost
The Commission says that demand for recycled plastic in Europe represents only about 6 of total plastics demand The EU plastic recycling sector has suffered from low
prices and market uncertainty
There are innovators but at the grass roots level this is not a sector for the faint hearted
Some of the innovations will be made at the petrochemical and plastic producer level and others by the plastic converter Petrochemical producers are looking at recycling more waste plastic back into polymer and into feedstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation which has been at the forefront of the drive to tackle plastic waste in the worldrsquos oceans highlighted last year that without innovation and fundamental packaging redesign 30 of plastic packaging will never be reused or recycled
The chart from its report made jointly with the World Economic Forum shows what savings could be made if packaging design and after-use were addressed more aggressively
PLASTIC PACKAGING SEGMENTS THAT NEED FUNDAMENTAL REDESIGN AND INNOVATION
Total is not the sum of separate categories due to overlapSource New Plastics Economy initiative analysis (see Appendix in World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation The New Plastics Economy-Catalysing action (2017 httpwwwelenmacarthurfoundationorgpublications)for details)
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The plastics industry trade group PlasticsEurope has three collaborative projects covering polyolefin- vinyl- and styrene-based plastic packaging They are looking at packaging design alongside quality standards and non-mechanical processes to convert polymer into feedstock for new raw materials A styrenics circular solutions initiative is looking into the technologies that will enable the incorporation of post-consumer waste back into the production process The most promising technologies will be assessed by the end of 2018 PlasticsEurope says
European plastics manufacturers are committed to ensure high rates of reuse and recycling with the ambition to reach 60 for plastic packaging by 2030rdquo executive director of
Nigel Davis is Insight Editor with ICIS a course director with ICIS Training and a
regular contributor to ICIS news Nigel has been analysing and writing about the chemical
industry for many years the Insight column providing daily commentary on the sector its
markets and companies
NIGEL DAVIS INSIGHT EDITOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GET ACCESS TO THE FULL ARCHIVE OF INSIGHTS FROM ICIS NEWS BY REQUESTING A FREE TRIAL
PlasticsEurope Karl-H Foerster said in January ldquoThis will help achieve our goal of 100 reuse recycling and recovery of all plastics packaging at European level by 2040rdquo he added
The trade group stresses that no plastics should end up in the environment and that further action needs to be taken on landfill
ldquoSince 2011 the European plastics industry has been calling for zero plastics to landfillrdquo Foerster said ldquoOnly a legally binding landfill restriction on all recyclable and other recoverable post-consumer waste will put an end to the landfilling of all waste which can be used as a resourcerdquo
Source PlasticsEurope
Mechanical Recycling Feedstock Recycling
PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE PER COUNTRY IN 2016
CzechiaGermany
NetherlandsSwedenIreland
SpainUK
EstoniaSlovakiaSloveniaBelgiumNorway
PortugalLatvia
ItalyPoland
LuxembourgLithuania
CyprusSwitzerland
AustriaBulgariaDenmarkRomania
CroatiaHungary
MaltaGreeceFranceFinland
0 20 40 60
Plastics recycling target acc to the EU PPWD 225
EU 28+2 recycling rate of plastic packaging waste408
JOIN THE ICIS NETWORKING DISCUSSION AT AFPM IPC
25th March 3pm in San Antonio
A snapshot of the uncertainty in the petrochemicals markets and what is in store for 2018
2017 was a tumultuous year in the petrochemical industry amid growing capacities from North Americarsquos shale boom increasing environmental regulations in China rippling through the global marketplace and storms such as Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc on supply and demand
Register for your free place and find out how these factors are affecting the 2018 marketplace and how ICIS data analytics and consulting can help you navigate these turbulent waters
Drinks and canapeacutes will be served following the discussion from 330 pm onwards
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
And the decision by China to stop importing the worldrsquos plastic waste from the start of this year has clearly hit home
In 2015 China imported more than 10m tonnes of the 118m tonnes of plastic scrap exported globally The biggest exporters were the US Japan Germany and the UK
ICIS data show that 331m tonnes of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were used globally in flexible packaging in 2016 that is 656 of total consumption
High density polyethylene packaging films and sheets consumption was 95m tonne or 228 of total HDPE use A further 83m tonnes (or 198 of the total) is injection moulded into cups crates tubes caps and other packaging items
Close to 30 of the other major thermoplastic polypropylene (PP) or 147m tonnes was used to produce packaging film and sheets while 55m tonnes went into rigid packaging such as cups trays containers and closures
For polyolefins and plastics producers packaging is clearly the big if not the dominant business so it is in their best interests to be up to speed with recycling trends and the pressures building on primary plastics demand
There is no doubt that polymer producers take the issue seriously and there are numerous programmes running at the corporate and the sector level to look at ways of
improving the industryrsquos approach to the circular economy
Regulation or legislation will help prompt further innovation and growth rate projections will take into account the impact of recycling at the regional and global level
But as recycling awareness ndash and action ndash increases larger percentages of primary plastics demand will be removed from the market
The complexity of the recycling issue revolves around the different types and grades of plastic used in throwaway packaging and goes some way to explain why recycling rates of plastic packaging generally are so low
Consumers have been offered better performing and more attractive plastic packaging but colour particularly presents problems in the waste stream Consumers also are not encouraged sufficiently to collect and sort waste
The Commission says that around 258m tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Europe every year and that less than 30 of that waste is collected for recycling
A lot of this trash leaves the EU for third countries
The table shows ICIS estimates of the types of plastic used in packaging in Europe and illustrates the importance of not only LDPE and LLDPE in the market but also more difficult to recycle polystyrene and expandable polystyrene
Improve your strategic plans with Petrochemicals Analytics SolutionsOur new and enhanced analytics and insights puts you in a stronger position so you can optimise your trades plans and strategies in order to secure a competitive advantage
Request a demo
Do you follow the European RPET market Wersquore looking for input from industry professionals around their challenges and aims in order for ICIS to better support this sector Click here to share your views
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
For industry the less easily recyclable products are likely to be the ones where the focus lies The plastics sectorrsquos styrene reuse and recycling projects being among the most important in this regards
The fact that a great deal of plastics packaging still goes to landfill where it degrades so slowly and is incinerated shows how the entire plastic chain is effectively seen to be taking the easy option on not addressing the challenges of the circular economy whether that is the case or not
The European Commission has put it bluntly Between euro70bn and euro150 bn of the value of plastic packaging is lost to the economy after a very short ldquofirst cyclerdquo In other words single use plastic packaging is just thrown away The estimate is that 95 of the value of that packaging is lost
The Commission says that demand for recycled plastic in Europe represents only about 6 of total plastics demand The EU plastic recycling sector has suffered from low
prices and market uncertainty
There are innovators but at the grass roots level this is not a sector for the faint hearted
Some of the innovations will be made at the petrochemical and plastic producer level and others by the plastic converter Petrochemical producers are looking at recycling more waste plastic back into polymer and into feedstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation which has been at the forefront of the drive to tackle plastic waste in the worldrsquos oceans highlighted last year that without innovation and fundamental packaging redesign 30 of plastic packaging will never be reused or recycled
The chart from its report made jointly with the World Economic Forum shows what savings could be made if packaging design and after-use were addressed more aggressively
PLASTIC PACKAGING SEGMENTS THAT NEED FUNDAMENTAL REDESIGN AND INNOVATION
Total is not the sum of separate categories due to overlapSource New Plastics Economy initiative analysis (see Appendix in World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation The New Plastics Economy-Catalysing action (2017 httpwwwelenmacarthurfoundationorgpublications)for details)
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The plastics industry trade group PlasticsEurope has three collaborative projects covering polyolefin- vinyl- and styrene-based plastic packaging They are looking at packaging design alongside quality standards and non-mechanical processes to convert polymer into feedstock for new raw materials A styrenics circular solutions initiative is looking into the technologies that will enable the incorporation of post-consumer waste back into the production process The most promising technologies will be assessed by the end of 2018 PlasticsEurope says
European plastics manufacturers are committed to ensure high rates of reuse and recycling with the ambition to reach 60 for plastic packaging by 2030rdquo executive director of
Nigel Davis is Insight Editor with ICIS a course director with ICIS Training and a
regular contributor to ICIS news Nigel has been analysing and writing about the chemical
industry for many years the Insight column providing daily commentary on the sector its
markets and companies
NIGEL DAVIS INSIGHT EDITOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GET ACCESS TO THE FULL ARCHIVE OF INSIGHTS FROM ICIS NEWS BY REQUESTING A FREE TRIAL
PlasticsEurope Karl-H Foerster said in January ldquoThis will help achieve our goal of 100 reuse recycling and recovery of all plastics packaging at European level by 2040rdquo he added
The trade group stresses that no plastics should end up in the environment and that further action needs to be taken on landfill
ldquoSince 2011 the European plastics industry has been calling for zero plastics to landfillrdquo Foerster said ldquoOnly a legally binding landfill restriction on all recyclable and other recoverable post-consumer waste will put an end to the landfilling of all waste which can be used as a resourcerdquo
Source PlasticsEurope
Mechanical Recycling Feedstock Recycling
PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE PER COUNTRY IN 2016
CzechiaGermany
NetherlandsSwedenIreland
SpainUK
EstoniaSlovakiaSloveniaBelgiumNorway
PortugalLatvia
ItalyPoland
LuxembourgLithuania
CyprusSwitzerland
AustriaBulgariaDenmarkRomania
CroatiaHungary
MaltaGreeceFranceFinland
0 20 40 60
Plastics recycling target acc to the EU PPWD 225
EU 28+2 recycling rate of plastic packaging waste408
JOIN THE ICIS NETWORKING DISCUSSION AT AFPM IPC
25th March 3pm in San Antonio
A snapshot of the uncertainty in the petrochemicals markets and what is in store for 2018
2017 was a tumultuous year in the petrochemical industry amid growing capacities from North Americarsquos shale boom increasing environmental regulations in China rippling through the global marketplace and storms such as Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc on supply and demand
Register for your free place and find out how these factors are affecting the 2018 marketplace and how ICIS data analytics and consulting can help you navigate these turbulent waters
Drinks and canapeacutes will be served following the discussion from 330 pm onwards
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
For industry the less easily recyclable products are likely to be the ones where the focus lies The plastics sectorrsquos styrene reuse and recycling projects being among the most important in this regards
The fact that a great deal of plastics packaging still goes to landfill where it degrades so slowly and is incinerated shows how the entire plastic chain is effectively seen to be taking the easy option on not addressing the challenges of the circular economy whether that is the case or not
The European Commission has put it bluntly Between euro70bn and euro150 bn of the value of plastic packaging is lost to the economy after a very short ldquofirst cyclerdquo In other words single use plastic packaging is just thrown away The estimate is that 95 of the value of that packaging is lost
The Commission says that demand for recycled plastic in Europe represents only about 6 of total plastics demand The EU plastic recycling sector has suffered from low
prices and market uncertainty
There are innovators but at the grass roots level this is not a sector for the faint hearted
Some of the innovations will be made at the petrochemical and plastic producer level and others by the plastic converter Petrochemical producers are looking at recycling more waste plastic back into polymer and into feedstock
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation which has been at the forefront of the drive to tackle plastic waste in the worldrsquos oceans highlighted last year that without innovation and fundamental packaging redesign 30 of plastic packaging will never be reused or recycled
The chart from its report made jointly with the World Economic Forum shows what savings could be made if packaging design and after-use were addressed more aggressively
PLASTIC PACKAGING SEGMENTS THAT NEED FUNDAMENTAL REDESIGN AND INNOVATION
Total is not the sum of separate categories due to overlapSource New Plastics Economy initiative analysis (see Appendix in World Economic Forum and Ellen MacArthur Foundation The New Plastics Economy-Catalysing action (2017 httpwwwelenmacarthurfoundationorgpublications)for details)
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The plastics industry trade group PlasticsEurope has three collaborative projects covering polyolefin- vinyl- and styrene-based plastic packaging They are looking at packaging design alongside quality standards and non-mechanical processes to convert polymer into feedstock for new raw materials A styrenics circular solutions initiative is looking into the technologies that will enable the incorporation of post-consumer waste back into the production process The most promising technologies will be assessed by the end of 2018 PlasticsEurope says
European plastics manufacturers are committed to ensure high rates of reuse and recycling with the ambition to reach 60 for plastic packaging by 2030rdquo executive director of
Nigel Davis is Insight Editor with ICIS a course director with ICIS Training and a
regular contributor to ICIS news Nigel has been analysing and writing about the chemical
industry for many years the Insight column providing daily commentary on the sector its
markets and companies
NIGEL DAVIS INSIGHT EDITOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GET ACCESS TO THE FULL ARCHIVE OF INSIGHTS FROM ICIS NEWS BY REQUESTING A FREE TRIAL
PlasticsEurope Karl-H Foerster said in January ldquoThis will help achieve our goal of 100 reuse recycling and recovery of all plastics packaging at European level by 2040rdquo he added
The trade group stresses that no plastics should end up in the environment and that further action needs to be taken on landfill
ldquoSince 2011 the European plastics industry has been calling for zero plastics to landfillrdquo Foerster said ldquoOnly a legally binding landfill restriction on all recyclable and other recoverable post-consumer waste will put an end to the landfilling of all waste which can be used as a resourcerdquo
Source PlasticsEurope
Mechanical Recycling Feedstock Recycling
PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE PER COUNTRY IN 2016
CzechiaGermany
NetherlandsSwedenIreland
SpainUK
EstoniaSlovakiaSloveniaBelgiumNorway
PortugalLatvia
ItalyPoland
LuxembourgLithuania
CyprusSwitzerland
AustriaBulgariaDenmarkRomania
CroatiaHungary
MaltaGreeceFranceFinland
0 20 40 60
Plastics recycling target acc to the EU PPWD 225
EU 28+2 recycling rate of plastic packaging waste408
JOIN THE ICIS NETWORKING DISCUSSION AT AFPM IPC
25th March 3pm in San Antonio
A snapshot of the uncertainty in the petrochemicals markets and what is in store for 2018
2017 was a tumultuous year in the petrochemical industry amid growing capacities from North Americarsquos shale boom increasing environmental regulations in China rippling through the global marketplace and storms such as Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc on supply and demand
Register for your free place and find out how these factors are affecting the 2018 marketplace and how ICIS data analytics and consulting can help you navigate these turbulent waters
Drinks and canapeacutes will be served following the discussion from 330 pm onwards
Copyright 2018 Reed Business Information Ltd ICIS is a member of RBI and is part of RELX Group plc ICIS accepts no liability for commercial decisions based on this content
The plastics industry trade group PlasticsEurope has three collaborative projects covering polyolefin- vinyl- and styrene-based plastic packaging They are looking at packaging design alongside quality standards and non-mechanical processes to convert polymer into feedstock for new raw materials A styrenics circular solutions initiative is looking into the technologies that will enable the incorporation of post-consumer waste back into the production process The most promising technologies will be assessed by the end of 2018 PlasticsEurope says
European plastics manufacturers are committed to ensure high rates of reuse and recycling with the ambition to reach 60 for plastic packaging by 2030rdquo executive director of
Nigel Davis is Insight Editor with ICIS a course director with ICIS Training and a
regular contributor to ICIS news Nigel has been analysing and writing about the chemical
industry for many years the Insight column providing daily commentary on the sector its
markets and companies
NIGEL DAVIS INSIGHT EDITOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GET ACCESS TO THE FULL ARCHIVE OF INSIGHTS FROM ICIS NEWS BY REQUESTING A FREE TRIAL
PlasticsEurope Karl-H Foerster said in January ldquoThis will help achieve our goal of 100 reuse recycling and recovery of all plastics packaging at European level by 2040rdquo he added
The trade group stresses that no plastics should end up in the environment and that further action needs to be taken on landfill
ldquoSince 2011 the European plastics industry has been calling for zero plastics to landfillrdquo Foerster said ldquoOnly a legally binding landfill restriction on all recyclable and other recoverable post-consumer waste will put an end to the landfilling of all waste which can be used as a resourcerdquo
Source PlasticsEurope
Mechanical Recycling Feedstock Recycling
PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING RATE PER COUNTRY IN 2016
CzechiaGermany
NetherlandsSwedenIreland
SpainUK
EstoniaSlovakiaSloveniaBelgiumNorway
PortugalLatvia
ItalyPoland
LuxembourgLithuania
CyprusSwitzerland
AustriaBulgariaDenmarkRomania
CroatiaHungary
MaltaGreeceFranceFinland
0 20 40 60
Plastics recycling target acc to the EU PPWD 225
EU 28+2 recycling rate of plastic packaging waste408
JOIN THE ICIS NETWORKING DISCUSSION AT AFPM IPC
25th March 3pm in San Antonio
A snapshot of the uncertainty in the petrochemicals markets and what is in store for 2018
2017 was a tumultuous year in the petrochemical industry amid growing capacities from North Americarsquos shale boom increasing environmental regulations in China rippling through the global marketplace and storms such as Hurricane Harvey wreaking havoc on supply and demand
Register for your free place and find out how these factors are affecting the 2018 marketplace and how ICIS data analytics and consulting can help you navigate these turbulent waters
Drinks and canapeacutes will be served following the discussion from 330 pm onwards
