What is the Current Status of the Global Recycled Plastics Market?

During 2022, recycled plastics were a market of almost 50 million tonnes industry around the world, accounting for 13% of the world consumption of resins. However, these levels will increase substantially in coming years, reaching over 18% of world plastics use by 2030.

This rapid evolution will be driven by a combination of legislation and consumer desire, these twin pressures radically changing the nature of the specifications used in the world industry. The proprietary analysis by Business Publishing International illustrates the major resins impacted by these developments are PET and the Polyolefins. 

Although all world regions will experience these developments the biggest impact will be on the European market where sustainability concerns and recycling infrastructure are most well developed, the result is that, while in 2022 around 20% of the polymers used in the region are from consumer and industrial waste, the levels will reach over 35% of total demand by 2023. For further discussion on this topic see our post on “peak plastics”.

The detailed analysis behind these base statistics will be discussed in detail at this years Global Plastics Industry Seminar.