Global Plastics Industry

When looking at the variety of conventional plastic products, 26.3% consists of PE (LDPE and HDPE), 18.9% of PP, 12.7% of PVC, 9% of recycled plastic, and 6.2% of PET polymers (Figure 1) [1]. PE, PP, and PVC polymers make up 57.9% of the plastic raw material produced. Another commonly used polymer group is PET (6.2%), which is used in many areas, from synthetic fibers to packaging products. Circular plastics account for 9.5% of total plastic production. A subset of these plastics, bioplastics, accounts for 0.5% of total plastic production. Bioplastics are a polymer group that will enable the plastics industry to operate in harmony with nature in the future. The main factors behind the continuous increase in the use of plastic and plastic products are their cost-effectiveness, rapid population growth, the inadequacy of restrictive regulations on plastic consumption, and the increasing prevalence of fast consumption habits. If effective measures are not quickly implemented on these issues, both current and future generations will face an escalating plastic waste problem.