Led by Western Europe, increasing regulations and bans against plastic bags and other single-use plastic items such as drinking straws is driving growing demand for biodegradable plastics. The current market value of biodegradable plastics exceeds $1.1 billion in 2018, but could reach $1.7 billion by 2023.
The food packaging, disposable tableware (cups, plates, and cutlery) and bags sector is the largest end-use segment and will benefit from local restrictions on plastic shopping bags while achieving double-digit growth. Compost bags are the second most important end-use for biodegradable polymers. This market segment will experience strong growth thanks to the gradual expansion of composting infrastructure and growing interest in diverting organic waste such as leaves, grass clippings and food waste from landfill.
Foam packaging, which includes starch-based loose-fill packaging (packing peanuts), is a significant end-use for biodegradable polymers in Western Europe and North America; mulch films and other agricultural applications are important end uses in Western Europe and Asia. Smaller-volume markets include paper coatings for cups and cartons, as well as textiles, nonwoven fabrics, resorbable medical devices such as sutures and implants, downhole tools for oil and gas field operations, and 3-D printing filament.
In 2018, global demand for these polymers is 360,000 metric tons, but total consumption of biodegradable polymers is expected to increase to almost 550,000 metric tons by 2023, representing an average annual growth rate of 9 percent for the five-year period, which is equivalent to a volume increase of more than 50 percent from 2018 to 2023.
According to IHS Markit, global demand for PE, the world’s most-used plastic, has nearly doubled during the last 20 years. IHS Markit expects 2018 global PE demand to exceed 100 million metric tons (MMT). However, significant new market pressures, including a rise in consumer expectations around sustainability, along with tightening environmental regulations in mature markets such as Europe and key growth markets such as China, could threaten future demand growth.
Read the full story at https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180726005162/en/Plastic-Regulations-Bans-Increase-Market-Biodegradable-Polymers.