Plastics Recycling: Global Markets Through 2023

Report Highlights

The global market for plastics recycling should grow from $25.3 billion in 2018 to $33.8 billion by 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% for the period of 2018-2023.

Report Includes

• 96 data tables
• An overview of the global markets for plastic recycling
• Analyses of global market trends, with data from 2017, 2018, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2023
• Discussion on the history and current state of plastic recycling market, and future trends
• Insight into the government regulations and targets of the plastic recycling industry
• Company profiles of the industry including JK Plastics Pty. Ltd., PET Recycling Company (PETCO), LyondellBasell, Geo-Tech Polymers, Phoenix Technologies International, LLC and MBA Polymers Inc.

Report Scope

For the purposes of this report, the term “recycling” refers to the removal of products from the waste stream for uses not including incineration or energy recovery. Any secondary uses or reuse of the material is assumed to have already taken place. The term “recovery” is taken to include all disposal methods except land disposal (i.e., recycling, incineration, waste-to-energy [WTE]).

The term “chemical recycling” will be used to describe the return to chemical units originally used to make resins. Nylon can be depolymerized to caprolactam. The term “feedstock recycling” will be used to denote the process of decomposing plastics to a mix of organic chemicals, some used in the manufacture of plastics and some not. Feedstock recycling products are more akin to the raw materials used to produce plastics (e.g., petroleum, natural gas).

Mechanical recycling methods include those that involve physical modifications to the recovered plastic only, such as separation, grinding and classifying.

The report will be concerned with activities in four regions: North America, Europe, the Asia region and the Rest of the World (ROW). All figures are reported to the nearest million dollars or million or billion pounds. Growth rates given are compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) for the period from 2017 to 2023. All value figures noted are in constant 2017 U.S. dollars.

The market data in the tables of this report only cover post-consumer plastics. Post-industrial plastics are not included.

The report is divided into several sections. The Introductory section summarizes the study’s goals and objectives, the reasons for doing the study and scopes. The Summary and Highlights section provides a brief summary of estimates and forecasts of the global plastics recycling market from 2017 through 2023 and highlights of largest and fastest-growing markets and important trends.

The Overview section describes the manufacture of plastics, the major types of plastics used, the ways in which plastics are disposed after use and a summary of recycling methods.

The Global Market section describes existing markets by product sources. Recycled waste products include bottles, vehicles, carpet and electronics. This section covers topics such as the amount of plastic annually collected and recycled from these sources, and when possible, it offers a prediction regarding the probable growth rate over the next five years.

The Global Market section also looks at plastics recycling by resin, summarizing the sources and end uses for recycled materials that are available. Most recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) comes from PET bottles, and the main end market for recycled PET bottle resin is fibers.

The Global Market section also profiles products made with recycled plastics, including applications such as plastic lumber and plastic composites (e.g., wood, fibers, cement, glass). Products are covered separately, as they may be made from plastic from a combination of sources. Wood/fiber plastic composites may be made from several different resin types, each possibly derived from several different products.

After the global market sections, there will be four chapters that discuss the regional plastics recycling markets: North America, Europe, the Asia region and ROW.

The Company Profiles section lists relevant organizations and companies.

The Appendix provides definitions of abbreviations and acronyms.

Market values and volumes have specific measurements.

• Market values are measured at the level of plastic recycled, such as the values of recycled resin pellets.
• The market volumes by end use or application are measured at the levels of both the amount of plastic available for recycling and the amount of plastic that is recycled.
• The market volumes by sources of waste (e.g., bottles, films.) are measured at the level of the amount of plastic available for recycling.
• The market volume is segmented by resin types of waste (e.g., PET, PE.) and measured at the level of the amount of plastic available for recycling.

Analyst Credentials

Jason Chen has been an analyst and consultant for the polymer, composite, fiber, textile and energy industries for 18 years. He works as a researcher, writer and/or editor for the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA), China Textile Academy (CTA), China Chemical Fiber Association (CCFA), International Fiber Journal, Filtration News, Platts Emission Daily, Vision Systems Design, Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News and MobileTex. Currently he is the chief scientist of a company endeavoring to reduce China's air and water pollution. He has a degree in Civil Engineering, Chemicals and Advanced Materials from Shantou University.