Despite the regulations to protect the environment, the plastics industry remains dynamic

Producers link consumption growth to "economic development of countries". However, a large number of countries have taken action on the use of equipment due to increasing contamination.

The plastics industry has been growing steadily, driven by both emerging-market consumption and more technical products in developed countries, despite protests against their use and tougher regulation .

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In ten years, global plastics production has risen from 245 million tons in 2006 to 348 million tons in 2017, according to figures recently presented by the European Federation PlasticsEurope.

Growth was 3.9% in 2017, following the trend of previous years (4% in 2016, 3.5% in 2015).

If we consider only thermoplastics, which include the most common products such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate), polypropylene, polyethylene or PVC, world demand increased by 4.7% per year the period 1990-2017.

"It will continue the same way in the coming years, we can assume," says Hervé Millet, Director of Technical and Regulatory Affairs at PlasticsEurope. "The reasons that explain the growth of plastics in the world, a priori, will not disappear suddenly."

China, the world's largest producer of plastics, currently accounts for more than 29 percent of global production, up from just 15 percent a decade ago.

Plastics consumption is "linked to the economic development of countries", whether in terms of infrastructure and construction, transport or applications in the electrical and electronic sectors, explains Millet.

To this is added the first application, packaging, in high demand in developing countries and accounting for nearly 40% of plastics consumption in Europe.

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The end of the plastic bags

"There is a strong engine in the developing countries, linked to consumption ", with a demand for basic polymers for packaging, explains Pierre Gadrat, director of chemistry and materials in the cabinet Alcimed.

"At the other end of the chain, there is the development of technical polymers, just as dynamic, or even more than before," he adds. So, this industry "continues to grow both above and below," he says.

The production of new polymers has applications in the automotive and medical sectors. Some resins are used in composite materials for the automotive and aeronautics, but also for consumer products such as sneakers.

In parallel, the response of plastics is growing, especially for reasons of pollution, and the regulations are hardened, which is beginning to worry industry.

The impact on the oceans is one of the most disturbing points. The United Nations estimates that about every 2.6 square kilometers of the ocean there are 46,000 pieces of plastic of different sizes.

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The disposable plastic tableware is expected to disappear by 2020 if it is not biodegradable. Thin, non-compostable plastic bags have been banned since 2017 and many countries have taken similar measures against marine pollution.

At the end of May, the European Commission proposed to ban sticks, cutlery, plates, straws, cocktail sticks and plastic ball sticks.

The challenge of recycling

"At present, this does not massively affect the growth of the sector," said Emmanuel Guichard, delegate general of the French federation plastic containers (Elipso). But "we can think that all these regulatory measures, at a certain moment, will have their impact," he adds.

The sector is starting to take into account the recycling dimension, while high-consumption brands are committed to using more recycled plastic.

"Due to the regulatory pressure […] plastic waste is becoming less waste and more valuable raw materials," says Pierre Gadrat, who sees in recycling, still limited, one of the "major challenges for the future in the plastics sector."

For other commonly used materials, such as metals, glass, cardboard, waste are fully integrated into the production channels.

For the scientific director of the Citeo collection agency, Carlos de Los Llanos, "that is what plastic expects: the situation of an industry that simultaneously manages its virgin resource and its recycled resources ". But "it learns, it may take a few more years," he adds.