Page 51 - Plastics News July 2023
P. 51
BUSINESS NEWS
at ~US$ 7 billion in 2022 and a ban on the sale of single-use from bioplastics, with the
is forecasted to reach a market plastic products such as cutlery, add-on bonus of biodegra-
size of ~US$ 12 billion by 2028, straws, food containers, and dability. The certified biode-
growing at a CAGR of ~9%, other similar products from July gradable cups are also used
due to the shifting consumer 2021 to minimize plastic waste at big events and in major
preference towards eco-friendly across the country. Such factors football stadiums across Eu-
plastic solutions. Biodegradable are estimated to impel the biode- rope.
plastics break down faster than gradable plastics market growth, • According to European
conventional plastics. Biodegrad- during the forecast period. Bioplastics Association, the
able plastics degrade by 60% in 2. Increasing Consumption of Bio- existing total production ca-
less than 180 days, compared degradable Plastics in the Packag- pacity of Bioplastics in 2021
to traditional plastics which take ing Industry is Fuelling the Market was 2.4 Mn Tonnes, distrib-
about 1,000 years to decompose. Globally uted across all major end-
Growing piles of garbage and user segments, within which
landfills have become a major en- Biodegradable packaging is gen- ~50% was from packaging
vironmental disaster, with many erally defined as any form of industry.
negative impacts on ecosystem packaging that disintegrates and
flora and fauna. Growing con- decomposes naturally. The mar- 3. High Price of Biodegradable Plas-
sumer awareness of these effects ket for biodegradable packag- tics as Compared to Convention-
encourages the use of biodegrad- ing in the beverage sector is an- al Plastics is the Major Challenge
able plastics. ticipated to witness growth with Faced by The Biodegradable
the never-ending demand for Plastics Market
Hence, this has shifted con- bottled water and non-alcoholic
sumer preference towards using beverages. According to the En- Higher prices of biodegradable
environmentally friendly plastic vironmental Audit Committee, plastics than that of conventional
products, driving the biodegrad- an organization that examines polymers hinder the market's
able plastics market. Further- the policies and programs on growth in various application seg-
more, the stringent regulations environment and sustainable de- ments. Usually, the manufactur-
by various governments and velopment, stated an estimated ing cost of biodegradable plastics
federal agencies with the objec- 700,000 bottles are being littered is 20-80% more than that of tra-
tive to reduce plastic waste and every day in the UK alone, which ditional plastics. This is attributed
promote biodegradable plastics indicates the severe need for bio- to the high polymerization cost of
usage in packaging are likely to degradable packaging solutions such plastics as the product is in
boost the market demand during for beverages. the developing stage and there-
the forecast period. The regula- fore has not achieved economic
tions related to green packaging • For instance, in 2021, No viability.
are increasing. With the increas- Evil Foods, a US-based food For instance, biodegradable plas-
ing packaging waste generated & beverages company, pro- tic such as Polyhydroxyalkanoates
worldwide, governments across duced compostable packag- (PHA) has numerous applications
the globe are adapting to alterna- ing made by Kraftpak and in synthetic papers, binders,
tive sources such as biodegrada- printed with plant-based ink. medical devices, food packaging,
ble packaging. As a result, various Kraftpak is a biodegradable, electronic parts, and agriculture
FMCG companies are required unbleached carton board that have high production costs,
to adopt biodegradable packag- sealing with water-soluble limited availability, and low yields.
ing to comply with the standards, adhesives. Polylactic acid (PLA) polymer is
which in turn, is propelling the • The retailers in Europe, such more economical than PHA, but
growth of the market. as Rossmann, Aldi, Coop, still more costly than petroleum-
For instance, in July 2020, the and Carrefour, use single or based Polypropylene (PP) and
German government announced multi-use carrier bags made Polyethylene (PE).
PLASTICS NEWS 51
July 2023
