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Overview

The boon of plastic turned to bane with the nuisance of irresponsible waste management. While the usage of plastic has increased to more than 300 million tons per year, the recycling of the same, even with dedicated efforts from various stakeholders, has been hovering around 10% of it. Low crude oil prices, resulting in lower virgin polymer prices, have made recycled plastics less attractive. With no significant improvement in waste collection, sorting, and recycling technologies, the market for recycled plastics has faced relative lackluster in the past five years.

According to Infoholic Research, the global recycled plastics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period to reach a value of $66.73 billion by 2025. Regulatory changes by the European Union and China are expected to lead the market growth in the next five years; to be adopted by the US in the later stage. Among applications, bottling is expected to maintain its dominance, while films are expected to witness relatively higher growth.

Research Methodology

The recycled plastics market has been analyzed by utilizing the optimum combination of secondary sources and in-house methodology, along with an irreplaceable blend of primary insights. The real-time assessment of the market is an integral part of our market sizing and forecasting methodology. Our industry experts and panel of primary participants have helped in compiling relevant aspects with realistic parametric estimations for a comprehensive study. The participation share of different categories of primary participants is given below:

Key Market Insights

Traditionally, the recycled plastic was used in low-value applications wherein contaminated recycled pellets of mixed plastic were used. However, with increased investment in waste collection, sorting, and recycling technologies, it was possible to recycle plastic to near virgin purity, thus opening up the market for high-value applications, competing with virgin polymers. Globally, the US leads the market with the highest per capita consumption and collection of waste plastic, paving the way for the largest recycled plastics market. On the other hand, the Chinese market has been witnessing sweeping changes driven by the regulatory hard hand of banning the contaminated plastic import and forcing the domestic recyclers to either redirect their resources towards domestic waste management or abandon the business. It is too early to comment on the results of such changes; however, the change is directed with the aim of developing environment-friendly image for the Chinese chemical sector. On the third front, the European Union circular economy legislation will push the recycled plastic demand via setting minimum recycled content limits for the plastic packaging industry. The efforts are to create enough demand for recyclers to develop more competitive business opportunities to attract corporates and pushing technological breakthroughs.

Among applications, bottles has been the leading segment with most of the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) moving across the industrial supply chain. The beverage consumer brands, such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, have been taking initiatives to coordinate with recyclers via establishing collection & sorting channels along with creating demand for recycled PET. Further, the consumer brands with polypropylene (PP) bottles have also been opening up towards packaged bottles with recycled content, enabling a higher contribution from bottles. Films, the second largest segment, are largely used for secondary packaging applications where they do not come in direct contact with consumables.

The study of the global recycled plastics market provides the market size information and industry trends along with the parameters and factors impacting it in both short- and long-term. The study also covers the competitive scenario of the market with respect to major players with their branding strategies and differentiating factors among others. The study ensures a 360° view, bringing out the complete key insights of the industry. These insights help the business decision-makers to make better business plans and informed decisions for the future business. In addition, the study helps venture capitalists and investment professionals in understanding the companies better and take informed decisions.

The competitive scenario is very fragmented, with a large number of players competing in almost all segments. The real competition of the recyclers is not among each other, but with the virgin polymer producers. Costly waste collection, sorting, and cleaning are the biggest challenges limiting the feedstock availability for plastic recyclers. Increased competitive advantage against virgin plastic is expected to attract more players, creating an opportunity for technological development and overall market growth. Few of the prominent players in the global recycled plastics market are Suez S.A., MBA Polymers, Inc., KW Plastics Recycling, B. Schoenberg & Co., Inc., Waste Management, Inc., Merlin Plastics Supply, Inc., B&B Plastics, and Green Line Polymers among others

Report Scope:

Types Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) High-density Polyethylene (HDPE) Low-density Polyethylene (LDPE) Polypropylene (PP) Polystyrene (PS) Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Others (Polyamide; Linear Low-density Polyethylene; Silicone Rubber, etc.)

Applications Bottles Films Fibers Foams Others (Fillers, Construction, etc.)

