Issue 04/2016

Market study on
The consumption of biodegradable and compostable
plastic products in Europe 2015 and 2020
A comprehensive market research report including consumption figures by polymer and application types
FIRST MARKET STUDY ON CONSUMPTION OF COMPOSTABLE PLASTIC PRODUCTS PREDICTS DEMAND GROWTH
nova-Institute publishes the first
comprehensive market study on the
consumption of biodegradable and
compostable plastic products in Europe
2015 and 2020: 100,000 tonnes in 2015,
market demand could grow to beyond
300,000 tonnes in 2020.
Compostable plastic bags dominate the
market for biodegradable plastics in Europe.
They not only carry goods and biowaste but
also the hopes of the bioplastics industry for
huge markets in years to come. The legal
framework and composting infrastructure of
EU member states were found to be either
the bottleneck or the key driver for market
development. These are some of the main
findings by the expert team at nova-Institute
who researched the European market
demand for biodegradable polymers by
country as well as application, and analysed
framework conditions in detail. The market
of compostable and biodegradable plastic
products grew to 100,000 tonnes in 2015,
and could grow to beyond 300,000 tonnes
in 2020 – if the legal framework were to be
set more favourably.
The full report contains more than 300
slides of:
■ Market and company data by
geography, application and polymer.
■ Case studies on popular and promising
products.
■ A special feature on biodegradability and
organic waste management.
■ EU & Member States policy review and
analysis.
Scope of the report
■ Compostable or biodegradable polymer
types: PLA, (Co-)Polyesters (PBAT,
PBS(X), PLA-Copolyester Compounds,
Starch-Copolyester Compounds, Others:
PHA, compostable Cellophane films.
■ Applications: Biowaste bags, shopping
bags, flexible packaging, rigid packaging,
disposable tableware, coated paper/
board, agri-/horti-/aquaculture/Forestry
equipment, consumer goods, fibre-based
products, technical equipment.
■ Geographical coverage: Austria (AT)/
Germany(DE)/Switzerland (CH), Belgium
(BE)/the Netherlands (NL), France (FR),
Italy (IT), Sweden/Norway/Denmark/
Finland (N-EU), Spain (ES), United
Kingdom/Ireland (UK-IE).
21%
© – Institut.eu | 2016
Consumption of Biodegradable Plastic Products
by Application in the European Union,
100,000 tonnes in 2015 in per cent
7% 4%
Structure of the full report
1 Introduction
2 Summary & key findings
3 Production capacity data – Overview
4 Market data 2015
a. By polymer type (incl. company data)
b. By geography: EU and national
markets
c. By application
5 Political landscape: Policies and
legislation
a. EU level
b. Member States
c. Special trend report: Bagislation
6 Market scenarios 2020
a. Market trends
b. Case studies
7 Special feature: Standards – Labels –
Claims
8 Conclusions & Recommendations
A summary is available for free download:
www.bio-based.eu/markets
The full study is available for 3,500 € at
www.bio-based.eu/biodegradable_market_
study
The market study has more than 300
PowerPoint® slides of well-structured
market and company data, case studies and
a feature on biodegradation and composting.
68%
Bags (all types)
Packaging
Consumer Goods
Other Uses
Authors
Harald Kaeb (narocon, lead)
Florence Aeschelmann,
Lara Dammer and Michael Carus
(nova-Institute)
Contact
Dipl.-Ing. Florence Aeschelmann
+49 (0) 22 33 / 48 14-48
florence.aeschelmann@nova-institut.de
Order the full report
The full report can be
ordered for 3,500 € plus
VAT and the short version
of the report can be
downloaded for free at:
www.bio-based.eu/markets