Market Definition
Plastic recycling is an approach to reprocess plastic waste & convert it into useful materials. This practice helps address several environmental concerns like landfills, water pollution, environmental contamination, etc. Recycling plastic also facilitates the conservation of non-renewable fossil fuels, less energy consumption while producing plastic from scratch, minimized landfill levels, etc. These practices are increasingly gaining momentum worldwide across different verticals like packaging, construction, automotive, etc.
Market Insights
The Global Plastic Recycling Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 7% during the forecast period, i.e., 2021-26. The market is driven principally by the rapidly increasing demand for plastic across multiple verticals like automotive, medical, textile, construction, packaging, etc., in an extensive range of applications owing to its properties like impact resistance, easy transformation & processing, excellent insulation, strength, moisture resistance, etc.
Additionally, with the alarming concerns associated with the increasing environmental issues like Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, landfills, etc., the adoption of sustainable practices like plastic recycling is mounting substantially across the world and driving the market.
Besides, the massive support from governments of India, China, Southeast Asian countries, Brazil, & several European nations through various research & development initiatives, favorable policies, etc., is also creating lucrative growth opportunities for the leading players in the market.
Furthermore, with the mounting awareness about the harmful effects of plastic on the environment, coupled with surging levels of global warming, numerous plastic manufacturers are presenting new recycling concepts to reduce GHG emissions & create environmental sustainability.
| Report Coverage | Details |
|---|---|
| Study Period | Historical Data: 2016-19 |
| Base Year: 2020 | |
| Forecast Period: 2021-26 | |
| CAGR (2021-2026) | 7% |
| Regions Covered | North America: USA, Canada, Mexico |
| Europe: Germany, The UK, France, Spain, Italy | |
| Asia-Pacific: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia | |
| South America: Brazil, and Argentina | |
| Middle East & Africa: UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa | |
| Key Companies Profiled | Veolia, Suez, KW Plastics, Jayplas, B. Schoenberg & Co., B&B Plastics, Green Line Polymers, Clear Path Recycling, Custom Polymers, and Plastipak Holdings |
| Unit Denominations | USD Million/Billion |
Impact of Covid-19 on the Global Plastic Recycling Market
The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 had a decelerating effect on most industries worldwide, where the Global Plastic Recycling Market observed a catastrophic impact. The governments worldwide imposed stringent movement restrictions & frequent lockdowns to curb the spread of this dreadful disease, owing to which plastic recycling activities got suspended.
Besides, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the Covid-19 virus is spread through close contact between people, the demand for plastic-based masks rose substantially. However, due to a disrupted supply chain & hampered manufacturing units, the market underwent a temporary halt.
Plastic can deeply contaminate the environment if it is not suitably disposed of or recycled. While surgical masks have become an everyday essential, they are also a prominent source of pollution if not recycled or recovered adequately. Hence, leading market players like Veolia have been combining technology with quality & safety and transforming all kinds of waste into new raw materials for their reuse across various end-user verticals, thereby reducing plastic waste from the environment.
Moreover, with gradual improvement in the pandemic situation & the reducing number of Covid-19 cases, governments worldwide have allowed the recommencement of business operations, which, in turn, has enabled the market to recover from challenges like the demand & supply mismatch, coupled with massive financial losses.
Market Segmentation
Based on the Application:
Of them all, the Packaging sector is anticipated to observe the fastest market growth during the forecast period. It owes principally to the immense demand for plastic in applications like packaging food & beverages, especially for ready-to-eat & ready-to-serve products. With the massive requirement for plastic across this sector, several prominent leading players are inclined toward reusing plastic to reduce plastic waste reduction.
Besides, packaging industries are also transforming plastic into multi-use packaging products like bottles, containers, etc. Producing plastic from scratch (virgin plastic) involves a massive amount of energy & costs. As a result, manufacturers are using recycled plastic since it is cheaper, requires less power, and helps address several environmental concerns like water pollution, landfills, etc. It, in turn, is substantially contributing to the overall market growth and shall prevail the same trend in the years to come.
On the other hand, other applicant areas like the automotive & healthcare sectors are also likely to contribute to the global market growth, which, in turn, would reduce pressure from the overuse of fossil fuels & Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Besides, recycling plastic also saves a lot of energy, i.e., good enough to power around six houses on average, which is why more companies are inclining toward plastic recycling practices.
Furthermore, across the construction sector, the practice of recycling plastic is extensively used for producing composite materials like polypropylene & High-Density Polythene (HDPE). These materials go for numerous reprocessed plastics for manufacturing different products used across the construction sector.
Based on the Type:
Of them all, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) dominated the market with the largest share in recent years and is anticipated to prevail the same trend during 2021-26. PET has a high recycling rate compared to other types. Hence, the substantial use of plastic bottles worldwide, i.e., propelling the demand for PET, is the prime factor behind its dominance in the global market.
Besides, the growing use of PET in the food & beverage industry for packaging products like salad dressing, shampoos, window cleaners, tennis balls, etc., is also augmenting the market growth around PET type. Furthermore, the cost efficiency & high flexibility of PET further extends its application across verticals like textiles, films, automotive, electronics, etc.
Regional Landscape
Geographically, the Global Recycling Plastic Market expands across:
Of them all, Asia-Pacific is anticipated to dominate the market with the largest share during the forecast period. It owes principally to the massive plastic waste generation entwined with the increasing number of government initiatives across several countries in the region to address the mounting concerns associated with plastic waste & the need to recycle it.
According to the United Nations, plastic waste generation in the region is expected to reach around 140 million tons by 2030. As a result, numerous countries like China, India, & Japan are taking active steps to reduce plastic waste & spread awareness about plastic recycling & waste management. For instance:
Moreover, with the swiftly expanding automotive, textile, & construction sectors, the region is anticipated to experience an increasing practice of plastic recycling and drive the overall market.
In Europe, the Plastic Recycling Market is driven by the rapidly growing packaging, automotive, & construction industries entwined with stringent regulations to curb Green House Gas (GHG) emissions in the region.
On the other hand, North America is projected to witness the increasing demand for recycled plastic during the forecast period. It owes primarily to various initiatives by the governments of different countries in the region for collecting plastic waste from municipal authorities & households and processing & transforming it into reusable products.
The governments across North America are also ensuring that recycling is processed suitably before its way back to new applications. Hence, the region is projecting several growth opportunities for the leading market players with enhanced sustainable efforts and, in turn, fueling the market growth parallelly.
Nonetheless, the high population & expanding economy across Latin America is surging the demand for plastic across several verticals like automotive, packaging, construction, etc., in different applications, resulting in an increasing need for recycling plastic across the region.
Recent Developments by Leading Companies
Market Dynamics:
Key Driver
With the rapidly increasing concerns about pollution & environmental degradation, different countries worldwide are taking several initiatives for plastic recycling & waste management to promote & spread awareness about suitable disposal practices for plastic & recycling it into new products.
Besides, the surging requirement for recyclable food packaging like PET bottles used by prominent companies like Coca-Cola & PepsiCo is also soaring the demand for recyclable polymers like HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) resin, thereby driving the global market.
Possible Restraint
As effectively as the plastic recycling practices are growing, the investments in the market have been on the lower side. Moreover, with a flat recycling rate & increasing competition of recycling plastic with virgin plastic, the Global Market is anticipated to observe growth challenges.
Besides, a mix-up of different types of plastic during recycling is creating further difficulties for the market. Moreover, with the unavailability of well-established collection & sorting systems entwined with the rising need for innovative recycling technologies, the market might sustain during the forecast period.
Growth Opportunity
With the swiftly increasing focus on developing enhanced plastic recycling technologies, surging demand for recycled PET & HDPE, and the expanding application of recycled plastic across different verticals, the Global Plastic Recycling Market is likely to generate lucrative growth opportunities for the leading industry players during the forecast period.
Besides, rapid research & development initiatives by the governments of different countries to seek effective & novel ways for recycling plastic and waste management shall further back the market during the forecast period.
Competitive Landscape
According to MarkNtel Advisors, the major leading players in the global Plastic Recycling market are Veolia, Suez, KW Plastics, Jayplas, B. Schoenberg & Co., B&B Plastics, Green Line Polymers, Clear Path Recycling, Custom Polymers, and Plastipak Holdings, etc.
Key Questions Answered in the Market Research Report:
Market Outlook, Segmentation and Statistics
Frequently Asked Questions
A. The Global Plastic Recycling Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 7% during 2021-26.
A. The Packaging application is anticipated to emerge as an area of remunerative opportunities for the leading players in the Global Plastic Recycling Market during 2021-26.
A. The mounting focus on environmental sustainability entwined with the burgeoning demand for recyclable polymers like HDPE across different verticals to promote plastic recycling practices is driving the Global Plastic Recycling Market through 2026.
A. With innovations & enhancements in plastic recycling methods, the Global Plastic Recycling Market is anticipated to recover from the financial loss & regain its usual pace during the forecast period.
