|
|
 |
|
Viewing report
|
|
|
|
Packaging (Plastics) Market Report 2003
Key Note Publications Ltd, April 2003
Packaging is a large and important UK industry, which accounts for in excess of 1% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Plastic is the second most important packaging material in the UK, after paper and board. Plastic has the most dynamic growth of the packaging materials sectors in both the UK and Europe as a whole - estimated to be around 4% to 5% per year between 1998 and 2003. Flexible plastic forms around 30% of all plastic packaging sales by value in the UK.
The largest industry users of plastic packaging in the UK are those companies involved in food and drink. Food packaging - which is the largest single product area in the whole packaging industry, accounting for 54% of total UK production - will be the major growth market for plastics packaging in the future. The growth of the market is assisted by demographic developments in Europe, such as the steady increase in single- and two-person households and the growing number of elderly people.
Another new and growing special market is the packaging of pharmaceutical and medical products. Again, there is a strong and increasing demand for these products in industrialised countries, where considerable consumer expenditure is available for healthcare.
Growth in demand for plastic packaging, particularly the flexible packaging component, is strong in the UK and Western Europe, with historic value growth of around 1.5% per annum for polyethylene (PE). While tonnage growth for plastic packaging in the UK is rising, the increase in price of the raw materials used in the production of plastic packaging is resulting in a greater rise in the value of the UK plastic packaging industry's output.
Few materials can match the versatility and economy of modern PE and polypropylene (PP). These are by far the largest-selling plastics. Whether in bottles, plastic films or medical products, the two polymers (collectively known as polyolefins) have been used extensively since the 1960s.
The UK plastic packaging industry is concerned about the rise in cost of its raw materials and about the effects on its production capacity by recent environmental legislation, such as the Climate Change Levy introduced in 2000, and the 2002 proposed tax on the use of plastic bags (no decision had been made about this tax at the time this report was published [April 2003]).
The crisis in the Middle East (at the time this report was published [April 2003]) and the real possibility of a war between a Western-world coalition, led by the US, and Iraq has led to a sharp increase in the price of crude oil and plastic packaging feedstock. With the exception of regenerated cellulose film and cellulose acetate, with its subvariants, all plastics are ultimately based on petrochemical feedstock and, consequently, the price of raw materials for flexible packaging is highly dependent on the price of crude oil.
Around a third of all goods in the UK and Western Europe as a whole are now packaged in plastics, giving these materials the second-largest market share, after paper and board. In volume terms, 55% of this packaging is flexible, while the remainder is rigid.
The plastics industry's record on lightweighting is improving. As new technologies and designs are developed, less and less material is needed for the same effect and purpose. In 1970, the average plastic yoghurt pot weighed 11.8 grams (g), but in 1990, only 5g of plastic was needed to package the same amount. Since then, further lightweighting has been achieved.
In 2001, more than 290,000 tonnes of plastic was recycled in Western Europe. In the UK, the British Plastics Federation (BPF) pioneered the recovery and recycling infrastructure for plastics. The BPF has initiated and administered a Recycling Council, largely made up of plastic recyclers, and with the main aim of encouraging greater recovery and recycling of plastics.
Customers who bought this item also bought
UK Plastics Market Research Report
UK Plastic Packaging Market Research Report
Plastics in Packaging � Western Europe and North America
Rigid Plastics Packaging � Materials, Processes and Applications
Plastics Processing Market Report 2003
Plastics Packaging Manufacturers - Business Ratio Report
China Plastics Market 2003
Chinese Markets for Medical Plastics
|
|
|
|
